Drinking is not my Forte
by Kayla the kawaii gurl
Summary: It's summer break and Akane needs to party like a rock star... after all she's been on egg shells around Ranma and it's the same the other way around. A couple of drinks have fixed all that, but what about the problems afterwards? RA! Sorry Summary Sucks.
1. Chapter 1

Kayla the Kawaii gurl says: Why hello! How are you all doing out there? Good? Well that's good to hear. Welcome to my fic, I hope you all like it. Please let me know what you think so you know what that means right? REVIEW!!!! Ahem. Anyways. ENJOY!

Disclaimer: Okay so please listen up and listen up good. I am only going to say this one time and one time only. I, Kayla the Kawaii gurl, do not and I repeat DO NOT own Ranma ½…. Although if I did…. ha HA!!!!

Chapter One

The teacher was talking. She was sure of that because she was looking right at her, watching her lips move and hearing the slight murmur of her voice. She knew she was talking about something important but she wasn't listening. This wasn't something that was familiar with Akane. Akane always paid attention in class no matter what was on her mind, but for some reason she couldn't do it today. Maybe it was because it was the last day before summer break. Maybe it was because it was unbelievably hot in the class room. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because of the boy that she was now staring at instead of the teacher.

She frowned and tried to turn her head away but found that she was unable to do so. Her frown deepened slightly as she noticed that Ranma was doing what she was unable to do, paying attention to the teacher. Or at least he looked like he was paying attention, knowing him his mind was miles and miles away at the moment. Much like hers. Damn, what was wrong with her? Ever since they got back from Jusenkyo and the failed wedding, the two of them seemed to be in their own worlds, neither really interacting with the other unless it was necessary, but getting along better than ever.

She sighed as the bell rang and brought her back to reality. Ah… summer break. She grabbed her things out of her desk and packed her bag, trying to steal a glance at Ranma as she exited the room. Much to her dismay, he was already gone. Slowly she walked down the hall, totally lost in thought as she mindlessly snaked her way through the crowd and into the courtyard of Furikan High. She was half way to the gates when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Instantly she turned and looked up, half expecting it to be the person that had been consuming her thoughts lately. Instead she found that she was looking at Sayuri's pony tail.

"Akane what are you looking at?" Akane shook her head and chuckled slightly in an attempt to cover up her embarrassment. "Oh Sayuri! Sorry you caught me off guard, what's up?" The two started walking down the street together, seeing as Sayuri's house was along the way to Akane's. "Where's Ranma at? Don't you two usually walk home together?" Akane shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, I guess he took off home early, we're still working on cleaning up the dojo." Sayuri made a face at the mention of the current condition of the Tendo dojo. "Sorry to hear about that. Anyways, I was trying to get your attention during last period to pass you this but you were off in your own world."

Akane looked down to see that Sayuri was holding out a white envelope. She grabbed it and was about to ask her what it was when Sayuri suddenly cut her off. "I gotta run Akane but I hope to see you there! Have a great summer!" With that she took off up her street, waving back as Akane stood there completely confused.

Whatever, she had other things to be confused about.

* * *

Akane let out a sigh of satisfaction as she plopped down backwards on her bed. She felt much better now that she had changed out of her school uniform and into something more comfortable, as in some shorts and a tank top. She could already tell that this was going to be one of those really hot 'I don't know how I didn't melt' summers. She didn't care, right now she was cool and collected. The only thing that was on her mind right now was the boy that was down the hall fast asleep.

When she had got home she found that no one was home thanks to the note that Kasumi had left. Her dad and Mr. Saotome had gone to check out a new drinking hole that had opened up down the street and Kasumi was out with Nodoka getting some groceries. Akane already knew that Nabiki was out with some friends who were going away for college and so that meant that she was left alone with none other than Ranma Saotome himself.

She wasn't really bothered with that thought but then again the two haven't really been speaking to each other. Akane wasn't trying to avoid him really, it was just that, well, she wasn't really sure what she was going to say to him. She was still really confused about things and nobody was trying to answer her questions. It irritated her to no end, nobody in her family knew because they weren't there, and the people who were there she didn't really want to talk to at the moment. "That's it."

She swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up, determined to figure out once and for all what was going on between them and what had really happened at Jusendo. She knew that she wasn't hearing things that day and she wanted some answers.

She soon found herself walking all over the whole dojo looking for the person in question. Finally after about ten minutes she decided to check the guest room, silently cursing to herself that she should have looked there first. Slowly she climbed the steps and tip-toed her way to the door. Placing her ear to the door she listened to see if she could hear anything. Much to her pleasure she could hear rustling, but she also heard something else, something that sounded vaguely like someone grunting in pain.

Quickly she slid the shoji screen aside to reveal Ranma sprawled out on, sweat beading on his head, his sheets scrunched up in his hands. His fac was scrunched in what she took to be worry, and he seemed to be muttering something into his pillow. Curious, she got down on her knees and leaned in close to him, trying to figure out what he was indeed saying.

"A-Akane… don't…."

She sat up quickly, her eyes wide. He was dreaming about her? She surveyed his face again and it seemed as if the dream he was having didn't look too pleasant at all. She shook her head. She didn't want to know what it was that was making him look like he was in pain the way he was right then. She had to leave.

Standing up she turned her back to him to retreat out of the room when she heard her name called softly. Turning around she met storm-blue eyes that were shocked and confused. "Akane? What… what are you doing here?" She scratched the back of her short-haired head nervously. "Well… uh… everyone was gone and I was wondering where you were at…" She looked at him and watched his eyebrows crease in wonder. "Well I should be going… sorry I woke you up." She turned before he could say anything to her and was out the door before he could even do anything to stop her.

Once she was out the door he combed a sweat drenched hand through his equally drenched bangs and tried to figure out the look he had seen on her face when she turned around. What was it? Shock? That's about the only thing he could come up with. Did she hear him talking in his sleep? If so what did he say? Aw whatever, he'd have to ask her later, right now he really needed to take a bath.

* * *

Ranma stepped from the bathroom feeling really refreshed. He sighed as he looked down at what he had on, just a muscle shirt and some drawstring pants. He could already tell that this was going to be a really hot summer, one he was sure he was going to be spending most of in his female form.

Slowly he made his way to the kitchen, hoping to find a big pitcher of lemonade waiting for him and instead finding Kasumi packing up some groceries. "Oh hello Ranma! How was your nap?" His mind instantly flashed back to the nightmare that had seemed to be haunting him lately. "Oh uh, it was fine. Um…" he was silent for a moment and realized that the house was completely quiet. "Where is everyone?"

Kasumi had just finished packing her bag and turned to smile sweetly at him. "Well, father and Mr. Saotome are out at the new bar playing shoji and most likely having a couple of drinks. Your mother is there with them waiting to take them to her house after they have had their fill. Nabiki is visiting a friend up north and I will be leaving shortly to go to our cousin's house. I doubt anyone will be back until tomorrow afternoon at the latest, I know I won't for sure." Ranma listened intently until a thought popped into his head. "What about Akane?"

Kasumi grabbed her bag and headed towards the door, Ranma a few steps behind her. It was getting dark outside as the sun was setting. "She'll be home with you unless you decide to go else where. She's at a party right now at her friend Sayuri's house." Ranma's eye's widened a bit. Akane had decided to go to the party? "Father wanted you to accompany her but I told him to leave you alone. If you don't mind however if it gets rather late I would appreciate it if you could bring her home. Akane does sometimes forget to keep track of time." Ranma nodded. So this meant that the two of them would be home alone tonight. Maybe he could talk to her then, this has been going on way too long.

"Alright Ranma, I trust you to bring her home safe and sound. There's dinner already in the ridge, all you have to do is warm it up. I will see you two tomorrow!" With a wave of her hand Kasumi was off to the cab that was waiting in front of the gate for her, and with that he was all by himself.

He turned back into the house and made his way to the family room. He switched on the television and suddenly had an epiphany. He was bored out of his mind. He looked back towards the hallway and sighed. He might as well go get her now, or at least hang around there. Daisuke and Hiro would be there, they could entertain him while he waited for her. Besides, anything was better than sitting there and watching nothing on TV.

With that he slipped his shoes on and was out the door.

* * *

Akane sighed as she looked into the cup in her hand. She couldn't keep her mind off of what she had seen earlier or rather what she had heard. Shocked beyond belief she had decided that maybe she should make use of Sayuri's invitation and make an appearance at the party. She needed to take her mind off of things and she thought that this would be the perfect place.

"Whoo! Akane!" Akane turned to see Yuka stumbling towards her. "Hey… your cup is still full! Did you go get another one?" Akane took a step back as the smell of alcohol invaded her nostrils. "No Yuka, this is the same cup I had since I've been here." Yuka giggled, obviously intoxicated, and threw an arm around her shoulders. "Aw Akane-chan, you gotta lighten up! Just take a couple of sips and I promise you'll be feeling good." Her face scrunched up. If feeling good looked like that then she wasn't sure that's how she wanted to feel.

A loud commotion at the doorway pulled her attention away from her balance-challenged friend only to find the person she had been so eager to get away from standing there getting handed a drink by his two friends from school. She watched as he sniffed at it and made a face while Daisuke tried to encourage him. They locked eyes and for the longest stared at each other. Suddenly Akane found her cup interesting and decided that maybe Yuka's condition was looking pretty inviting right now. She looked back at him to see him looking at his cup the same way she had been a second ago.

Catching each other's eye again they simultaneously downed their cups and headed towards different sections of the house. They needed time to think, not quite ready to interact with the other yet. After a few minutes they both headed back to the punch bowl together, saying nothing much as they filled their cups up and returned to the other sides of the room.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

"C'mon Akane, the house is this way."

"No… It's this way…. Right?"

Ranma sighed as he grabbed Akane's hand, catching her before she toppled over in the street. Seems as though she had had one to many cups of 'special punch' as Daisuke had put it. As he tried to steady her upright he found that he had to also steady himself as well. Seemed as though he had had one too many too.

Slowly they made their way down the street, stopping frequently as Akane's flip-flops had kept coming off her feet. Finally a block away from the house Ranma had decided to give her a piggy-back ride which wasn't a really good idea considering that he wasn't that well balanced himself.

They had managed to make it in the house and upstairs to change clothes but of course the night couldn't be complete without an argument.

"Get out of my room you perv!" Ranma dogged at flip-flop, or at least tried to. "OW! Dammit Akane you're in MY room!" Akane looked around room finding out that it was indeed his, and suddenly became enraged. "You PERV! You brought me in here!?" Ranma's eyes widened because before he knew it she had jumped him, knocking them to the floor. They rolled for a minute until he had managed to pin her beneath him. He stared at her face, the floor under them feeling as though they were on a boat rocking side to side in the ocean.

He didn't know if it was the liquor running through her veins that made her cheeks so rosy or if it was the liquor that was running through him that made him all of a sudden very hot. All he knew was that his lips were suddenly on hers and hers were on his, both tasting the alcohol on the others lips. He remembered rolling onto his side, Akane startling him as she shoved her hands up his shirt exploring his torso underneath, and then his lips came crashing down on hers again.

Everything after that however, was a blank.

* * *

KTKG says: Okay… so that's the first chapter, let me know what you guys think of it and if you want me to continue on with it! Thank you and have a nice day. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Hot.

That's the first thing that came to mind. It was unbearably hot for some reason. She shifted in her sleep, trying to find a more comfortable position to cool off in, but failing miserably. Sighing, she came to the conclusion that relief would not be on its way she stopped moving and decided to lay still.

She didn't want to wake up just yet; she had just had the best dream ever! She blushed a bit at the memory of the dream as she recalled it with her eyes closed. It was so vivid and it seemed so real, she swore if it were real she would just die. Giggling she instantly regretted it as a sharp pain racked her brain.

Rolling onto her back she slowly cracked an eye open to peer at the ceiling. Uh… what had happened? Her head was killing her and she had this awful taste in her mouth. The ceiling finally came into focus and instantly her breath caught in her throat. This wasn't her ceiling; in fact this wasn't her room. She calmed herself down a bit, trying to remember what had happened. She remembered going to Sayuri's party and having a couple of drinks. Then what happened? Oh yeah, Ranma was there and then they had walked home… then they had fought? She was drawing a blank after that.

Maybe she should get up and find Ranma, maybe he could tell her what had happened. She tried to get up but something was holding her down. Looking down for the first time she realized that it was an arm, a strong arm at that. Horrified, Akane followed the length of the arm to find none other than the very person that she was attempting to get up and find.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ranma had been dreaming peacefully for the first time in who knows how long until he was awakened by an all too familiar sound. Jumping up into a fighting position he quickly scanned the room to see what the threat was. His scan stopped short when he noticed a wide-eyed beet-red Akane sitting in his futon. _Phew, okay she's safe. Wait a minute…_ "Akane? What are you doing in my room?"

In response Akane covered her face with the covers. Confused, Ranma looked down to see what she had been staring at, only to discover that he was totally naked. "Shit!" Frantically he searched around to find something to cover up with when yet another scream erupted from Akane. He looked up just in time to see Akane running out of the room, his blanket wrapped around her small frame. He surveyed the floor.

Apparently she had been in the same condition as him. Wait a minute…

"Oh man… I'm so dead."

* * *

Akane slammed the door behind her and slid down it as she tried to catch her breath. Her head was pounding but it wasn't as bothersome as her heart that seemed to be trying to make its way out of her chest at that moment. She couldn't believe what she had just seen, or rather she couldn't believe what position she had just woke up in. Never in her wildest dreams would she have…. Wait.

Her mind wandered back to her dream that she could suddenly recall with ease. _Oh my god no…_ That couldn't be right. She got up and plopped herself down on her bed. There was no way that that dream was true! But then again she had awakened to find both of them naked… no no no, there had to be a plausible explanation for this. Maybe…

She groaned as another wave of nausea hit her. She couldn't come up with an answer. Tears began to sting her eyes, whether it was from her massive head ache or the fact that she had lost her virginity to her playboy fiancée while drunk, she didn't know. Right now all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and die. Since she knew she couldn't do that, she settled for crying like a baby.

She didn't know why she was crying, she should be angry right? She should be out there pounding him into oblivion for even having the audacity to… to… aw who was she kidding. She couldn't even bring herself to get out of bed let alone beat him down. She had to admit, she was scared. Yes that's right, she was scared. What did he think? Was he angry? More than likely he was disgusted out of his mind. Suddenly she felt like she was going to throw up. This was too much for her right now. She needed to get away.

Slowly she got up and got dressed. Some fresh air would do her some good, maybe a trip to the river would clear her mind.

Ranma groaned as another cloud moved out of the way, allowing a really annoying ray of sunlight to hit him directly in the face. He had thought that coming out here would do him some good, you know, let him clear his thoughts and such, but in all honesty it was doing his throbbing head more damage than it was worth. He sighed and covered his face with his hands. No matter how bad his head was hurting right now he refused to go back to the dojo until he could clear his head of one thought and one thought only…

He had probably taken Akane's virginity last night.

He groaned as another lightning bolt of pain shot through his head. He couldn't believe this! This is not how he wanted it to happen! Oh wait, did he just think that? Uh, time to be true with himself. But what about her? What did she think about all this? It was obvious that she was embarrassed. _Of course she's embarrassed, you flashed her on top of everything else you idiot!_ He groaned again, he could just feel the awaiting beating now.

What was he going to do? He couldn't talk to her about it that was for sure. Suddenly he had a flashback and he could feel his face burning as bright as the sun. There was no way for sure now that he could talk to her now, not if he was having flashbacks like that. Hell, he probably couldn't even be in the same room with her let alone talk to her face to face. If he knew Akane the way he'd like to think he did, she was probably in the same boat as him and wished she was miles away from here.

He looked at the watch on his left hand, a present courtesy of Akane for his seventeenth birthday. Almost noon. Well, he guessed he should be heading back, maybe if he was lucky Akane had decided to meet up with her friends or something for lunch and he could have the whole house until the rest of the family started pouring in.

Yeah that would be nice… that and the fact that he was starting to get hungry.

* * *

Ranma felt his face lose all color and gain it all back at once. So much for his hope of Akane going out with some of her friends. He looked at the extra pair of shoes in the doorway, unknown to him with despair. Great, just great…

Maybe he should just turn around and leave now. Yeah, he could go to Ukyo's, maybe even risk a trip to the cat café, it didn't really matter at this point, he just needed to get away. That plan however was cut short when the one person he really didn't want to run into right now came into his line of vision at the particular moment.

She looked like a deer in headlights, and she wasn't standing there alone. Beside her was a girl a bit shorter than her. Her skin was tanned, darker than his, and she didn't really look fully Japanese. The girl looked between him and Akane, with some amusement she noticed, and Ranma decided that maybe it was time for him to say something. "Uh…"

Yeah, that was REALLY intelligent sounding.

Akane seemed to come back to reality at Ranma's attempt to break the silence. Looking to her friend on the right side of her, she motioned to the confused boy in front of her. "Well… um… Kohana, this is Ranma Saotome. He's uh… my… fiancée?" It was more of a question, almost as if she were asking him permission for the title. Did that mean, even after their little fiasco this morning, she still wanted to be his fiancée? His head was starting to hurt. Since thinking beyond this point wasn't such a good idea to him, he just nodded dumbly Man he just needed something to eat and to lay down.

"Hm… I see… Well, nice to meet you Ranma-san. I'm Kohana Kobashi, Akane's childhood friend if you will." She smiled sideways at the youngest Tendo. "I would love to chat with you more, but I'm afraid I'm running late. I'll See you guys around school?" Akane nodded in response as she watched Kohana slip on her shoes and made her way out the door. "Call me later!" Akane nodded instinctively but in reality she wasn't really listening, she was currently locked in a staring contest with the boy a short distance from her who's brain had just shut down due to an overload.

Akane did not like this situation. She was happy when she returned home to see a familiar face waiting for her at the front gates. Kohana was a very good childhood friend of hers that had moved to America, but apparently her father decided to move them back. It felt good to talk to her for a while, to get her mind off of things. She hadn't even thought about Ranma. Well, that was a lie. She had thought about him, she just didn't mention him, for fear that the flashbacks from the night before would be even more vivid than they already were. Like right now.

Ranma's face matched Akane's, rivaling it almost in the color of red. What was he going to say? Were they ready to talk about it yet? Hell no. Well, at least he wasn't. Looking at Akane now, it didn't seem like she was either. "Um…" He broke his train of thought to find her fiddling with her skirt hem. "The… Bath is ready…Kasumi had called and said that she would be on her way home shortly." He nodded slowly as she glanced at him briefly, trying to find his voice. "Uh… thanks."

With that she was up the stairs and into her room. He sighed. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

How she had managed to avoid him until dinner was beyond him. He didn't know that someone could stay in their room that long. Whether she was asleep or not, he didn't know. He had half a mind to peek in her window to check on her, but then that wouldn't really have helped their situation now would it? He sighed and rolled onto his back. He had tried to talk to her about it earlier, but when it actually came to knocking on her door he had to admit, if only to himself, that he had indeed chickened out.

Dinner had been the hardest thing to get through. She was so close to him, and every time they accidentally bumped elbows or he caught her glancing at him, he would be bombarded with flashbacks and would almost lose it. He had managed to steal a look at her when she wasn't paying attention and it looked as though she had been going through the same thing. As soon as dinner was over she had rushed up to her room and he to the dojo.

That had been hours ago.

Now he was lying in bed and couldn't get to sleep for the life of him. Why you ask? Well, besides the obvious, the main reason why was well… his futon smelled like Akane's cherry blossom body spray. It was every where and it wouldn't go away! Eventually he decided to just relax in it, hoping that it would be able to calm his frequent nightmare. Or maybe he'd be having a different dream tonight. AUGH!! This had to stop! He felt his eyes getting heavier, and promised himself before sleep overcame him that he would talk with Akane to settle everything.

Even if that meant admitting the one thing he was scared to death of…

* * *

KTKG: Ok… that's it for now… let me know if you're still interested… if I should keep going or what not… ) 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The sun was shining brightly just outside the window, not a cloud in the sky to block the rays of light from shining directly into her eyes. Irritated beyond belief she put her hand up, trying to block the offending rays out as she trained her focus on the textbook in front of her. The teacher was droning on and on in the background about Japanese history, but honestly she didn't really care about it at that moment. She wasn't feeling very good, and for more than one reason.

It had been exactly two months since the infamous little, well, big incident between Ranma and her and she hasn't exactly been talking to him ever since. She sighed and tried her hardest not to turn around and look in his direction. She could practically feel his eyes burning holes in her from looking so hard. He had been doing that a lot lately and she could only guess why. She couldn't help it though, she just felt awkward around him. She needed time to think, time to sort out her feelings.

She groaned and messaged her head with the hand she used to block the sun out with. For the past few weeks she had been feeling terrible in the mornings. She hadn't been able to keep anything down really and she had been extremely tired as of late also. Luckily for her Kasumi had asked her to stop by Dr. Tofu's after school. Maybe she should get checked out, it was probably just the stomach flu or something. She made a face at the thought. That was the last thing she needed right now.

The bell rang suddenly, signaling that it was lunchtime, something that Akane had come to dislike somewhat these past couple of weeks. She had only been able to eat certain foods, and sometimes even the smell of food made her sick to her stomach. She pondered the thought for a moment and made a mental note to mention this to Tofu.

"Akane-chan come on!" Akane's head snapped up only to see Kohana's smiling face. "Sorry Kohana-chan, here I come." Kohana's face went from smiling to slightly worried. Akane had been sitting there zoning out for at least a minute or so after the bell had rung. "You okay?" Akane was silent as she looked at Kohana. She didn't know anything about what had happened between her and Ranma. Actually, nobody knew anything, or had even the slightest clue that something was going on. She would put up an act at home but only when others were around them, which she was sure had confused Ranma even more. Maybe she would tell Kohana about it, she was one of her best friends after all, plus she could probably get some good advice from her. She was good at that.

Akane's long pause only proved to Kohana that something was indeed wrong with her best friend, not that she couldn't already tell before. Akane hadn't been her usual talkative self lately. "I'll tell you about it later." Kohana was brought out of her thoughts by Akane's voice. "Sounds good, do you want to come over then after school? Or are you busy?"

Akane rose from her seat and the two started making their way out of the classroom and down the stairs. "Well, I have to stop by Dr. Tofu's after school." Kohana's facial expression turned worrisome again. "What's wrong? You sick or something?" Akane nodded, but smiled and waved her off. "Yeah, but it's nothing big. Besides I have to drop something off to him anyways for Kasumi."

Kohana's mouth turned up into a cheeky grin that always adorned her face when something has intrigued her. "Oooh, Kasumi and Dr. Tofu. Wow… so, when are they going to get married and have some babies?" Akane giggled, having already known that she was going to say something like that. "Not yet, but I think that Tofu's pretty close to getting over his little episodes though so it's a start." Kohana laughed in return, having heard through letters about the two.

"Come on Akane let's eat! I'm starving!" Akane smirked. She swore Kohana's appetite could almost rival Ranma's, almost. "You're always starving you fat cow." Kohana's response to the insult was simple yet something she knew would lift Akane's spirit.

"Moo."

* * *

Ranma sighed as he settled himself down on the roof of the Tendo dojo. Today had been another one of those days. He had returned home without Akane and instantly Genma and Soun had jumped all over him for an explanation as to why. Luckily for him (and for them) Kasumi had interrupted just in time with the information that they were so worried about getting. Apparently Akane had called earlier from school saying that after she ran Kasumi's errand she was going to Kohana's for a bit and she'll be back later.

So there he was, by himself with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. He had found that he had been doing this a lot lately, and lately his thoughts had been about one person only. He was utterly confused about Akane's behavior. She would act normally around the family and at school. He would insult her and she would react in the normal fashion by yelling and malleting him. But when they were by themselves, it was a completely different story. It was almost as if he was a total stranger to her.

Things had been rather quiet, and it would stay that way for at least another month or so. Ukyo had gone up north for who knows what reason. Shampoo and Cologne had gone back to China for a month to take care of some business according to Mousse. He had no clue where Kodachi and Kuno were at, and Ryouga, well… he was probably somewhere in America by now. With everyone gone and summer vacation getting ready to start he was sure that, although he hated to admit it, he was going to be bored out of his mind.

Secretly he would have loved this. With everyone gone or occupied that meant that he and Akane would have time to spend together. He wanted to talk to her about what had happened in the last couple of months. He wanted to talk about Jusendo, the wedding, and well, what happened after Sayuri's party. His hopefulness was crushed however by the fact that Akane wasn't really speaking to him.

He reasoned to himself that she probably just needed time to herself. She had been through a lot just like him. He couldn't imagine what was going through her head right now. Sighing, he sat up and looked out on the city's skyline. Maybe he should just give her the space she needs; she'll come around when she was ready to talk.

Right?

* * *

"I'll just wait out here for you. Come and get me when you're done." Akane nodded as she rounded the corner and left Kohana in the waiting room. Knocking softly on the door she waited for a response before she cracked it open slightly. "Dr. Tofu?" She was greeted by the smiling glasses-clad man with a happy "Akane!" Smiling in return she slowly made her way into the room.

Sitting down on the stool next to his desk, Akane rummaged through her bag for the object that Kasumi had wanted dropped off. "Here you go." She handed him a book which he gladly accepted. "Thank you Akane." When she didn't moved he swiveled around in his chair, his eyebrows arched in wonder. "Is there something wrong?" She fixed a small smile on her face. "Well… I was wondering if you could tell me what was wrong with me."

She had his full attention now. "Well, why don't you tell me what's wrong with you and maybe I'll be able to figure something out." She nodded as she placed her book-bag on the floor beside her. "Well, for the past couple of weeks I haven't been able to really keep anything down, I've only been able to eat certain foods, and sometimes even the smell of food makes me sick." She watched as his eyebrows creased at the naming of her symptoms but she ignored it and continued on. "Plus, I've been extremely tired a lot but I don't know why. I think that it might be because I have the stomach flu. What do you think?"

Honestly, Tofu didn't know what to think. He knew that the symptoms she had could be the stomach flu, but he knew better than that. Her symptoms pointed to one thing and one thing only, but that couldn't be it. Akane was innocent; there was no way that that could be a possibility. Still he had to ask just to be sure. "Akane, when was the last time you had your monthly cycle?"

Akane froze. Her monthly cycle? She racked her brain for the answer and felt her stomach drop as it came to her. She was late this month; she should have already had it. Maybe she was just stressing out; she knew that that sometimes caused girls to miss their periods. "Well, it was the beginning of last month." Tofu's eyes widened slightly. "So that means that you should have already had it." She nodded in response, hoping that he was going to say something like she was just stressing out. "Well, if you've been stressing out then that could be the reason. Just in case, I'm going to run a test on you."

Akane nearly chocked on her spit. He didn't come right out and say it but she knew full well what kind of test he was going to make her take. But why would he want her to do that? She was innocent, she hadn't done anything. Suddenly her mind had a flashback, a flashback of masculine hands all over her, caressing her. She shook her head slightly, ceasing the inappropriate thoughts immediately. Okay, maybe she should take one just to be sure. "Okay."

He handed her a cup and slowly she grabbed it. She couldn't believe that she was doing this. But it was better to be safe than sorry. There was no way that she was pregnant right? It was just the stomach flu. Oh well, better get this done and over with.

She couldn't stop herself from fidgeting. A thought had occurred to her when she was in the bathroom. She and Ranma were very tipsy that night. And as we all know, when you've had a couple to drink, you don't think. Which meant when it all boiled down to it, they hadn't thought and used protection. So now here she was in the doctor's office, waiting to find out if her life was over and done with.

There was a soft knock at the door and a couple of seconds later Dr. Tofu's face peaked around the corner. He still had a smile on his face, but there was nervousness in it. "Well, I have good news." Good news? Her ears perked up at the two words. "Great! What is it?" Her mind kept chanting over and over that she had the stomach flu. "You don't have the stomach flu." Her mind tried to process the information. Okay, so she didn't have the flu, so then that meant…

That's when Akane felt her heart stop.

She was frozen there on the spot, not moving a muscle or making a sound. Everything around her seemed to drown out and fade away into nothing. She was in shock, complete and utter shock. A strong hand on her shoulder brought her out of her frozen state but her focus remained on the floor in front of her. "Akane, it'll be ok, trust me. You should go home and think about things and decide what you want to do about everything. You've been stressing out lately, so I recommend that you take some time to yourself. You can come back here when you've made a decision."

She nodded stiffly and stood, grabbing her bag in the process. Silently she walked out of the room and rounded the corner to where Kohana sat half asleep. Upon her reentry into the room Kohana snapped awake. "Akane! Hey! What'd he say?" She was silent with her head down so she couldn't see her face. Worried Kohana rose from her spot and walked over to her, placing both of her hands on Akane's shoulders. "Akane-chan? What's wrong?" There was a pause and Kohana noticed for the first time that Akane's shoulders were shaking. A second later Akane's head came up only to reveal tears streaming down her face.

"Kohana… I'm pregnant."

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KTKG: wow… how was that for not updating in a while?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Kohana and Akane walked down the street in complete silence, both lost in thought about the situation at hand. After Akane had blurted out her condition the two had stood in the waiting room and cried. Kohana held Akane, trying to comfort her best she could while trying to keep herself composed. It was hard but she had managed to calm her down enough that the both of them could start making their way to Kohana's.

Upon their arrival Kohana shooed Akane upstairs to her room while she explained to her dad that she hadn't had the best day and the two of them needed some time alone. Her father nodded in understanding, knowing that his daughter's friend was in good hands when it came to things like this.

Kohana had made a quick stop in the kitchen to grab the two some snacks. She was nervous and worried, and when she would add those two emotions together they always equaled hunger. She grabbed a big glass of water for her best friend and a box of chocolate pocky. Chocolate always made people's moods better, well; at least it worked for her on more than one occasion. "Like when that asshole dumped me because he decided that he liked full Asian girls better", she mumbled to herself as she thought about her boyfriend back in America. "Dumb ass."

"What was that?" Kohana jumped slightly at the sound of her twin's voice. "Hiro! What the hell is wrong with you?" He shrugged as he plucked the box out of her hands and prepared to open it. A quick one with her hands Kohana had managed to snatch the box back before her brother had a chance to break the seal. "What's with all the snacks?" He surveyed the counter, trying to see what he could snatch up and eat before his twin noticed. "They're for Akane and me and no, you can't have any."

He frowned but then smiled at the mention of Akane's name. Wow, he hadn't seen her in years! "Akane's here? Is she upstairs in your room?" Kohana made a face. She knew where this was going. "She's off limits Hiro." Hiro gave her a blank look and she sighed as she continued on. "Meaning that she's engaged," _and carrying his baby_, she wanted to add but instead kept it to herself. She was still in disbelief about it herself. "Oh well… someday, I'll make it happen."

Kohana snorted as she gathered everything and started making her way out of the kitchen. "Look, Akane and I need some privacy for some girl talk. Tell Sano that unless it's something very important he is to stay out of my room, is that understood?" Hiro grunted in response as he stuck his head in the fridge, trying to find something worth eating. Shaking her head she continued on out the room. Her dad already knew what was going on; he'd make sure that there were no interruptions.

Slowly she made her way upstairs as not to spill anything. She rounded the corner and was glad to see that Akane hadn't closed the door. When she stepped inside however, she wasn't so glad about the scene. Inside the room, Akane was sitting on her bed, smiling thankfully, but with what Kohana claimed to be a holy terror beside her. "Sano you big flirt! What do you think you're doing?" Both people looked up surprised. "Aw nee-chan! I wasn't doing anything!" Kohana didn't say anything but pointed to the door as soon as she was finished setting down her snacks. "Out Sano! Don't come back in here unless it's something that is really really and I mean REALLY important!"

Sulkily, Sano jumped off the bed and made his towards the door, taking a moment to pause and look back with a puppy face that usually worked. This time however, Kohana wasn't going to have any of it. "Sano…" Her voice wasn't as threatening as it was earlier; instead it took on more of a pleading tone. Slightly startled by his sister's tone he nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

Once gone Kohana let out a sigh of relief and plopped down on the floor in front of her bed as Akane stretched out on the bed. "Sorry about that. He's been hanging around Hiro too much as of late I'm afraid." Akane let out a giggle despite herself and waved her hand. "That's ok. Sano sure has grown though." Kohana nodded. "Yeah, grown into a little devil! He used to be so good, and then Hiro got a hold of him." She shook her head to further her point and reached up for her box of cookies she had brought in with her. "Oh here Akane, I brought you some water and some pocky." She pointed to the two mentioned objects on her desk.

Thankful she scooted the glass closer to her and grabbed the box of chocolate treats. Kohana always knew how to lighten her spirits a bit. "So…" Kohana nervously stuffed another cookie in her mouth. She knew she was good at giving advice but she had to be honest with herself and Akane whom was currently looking at her expectantly. "Sorry Akane, I really don't know how to start this…" There was silence. This was something new; Kohana had never been through something like this so she didn't know anything about it. She shrugged mentally. If she was going to give any advice on anything she needed to know the entire story. She already had a hunch about who the dad was, she just needed to know how he became the dad.

"Okay, how did it happen?"

Akane stopped chewing and swallowed, mentally sighing as she set the box down beside her. She knew that this was coming. She guessed that telling Kohana about it would be more of a reality check to her. She moved backwards on the bed, settling comfortably against the pillows at the head of her bed. Kohana plopped down at the other end of the bed on her stomach. She knew that this was going to be an interesting story; she might as well get comfortable.

"Well… you remember Sayuri's party?" Kohana nodded. "Well, I'm pretty sure that you remember me telling you of me being pretty tipsy too huh?" Kohana nodded again, secretly giggling to herself. She could just imagine Akane downing drink after drink. "Well, anyways, if you didn't know already know, Ranma was pretty tipsy himself."

Kohana's eyebrows perked up at that. If memory served her correctly, Akane had said that Ranma had disappeared shortly after he had arrived. She hadn't seen him for the rest of the night except for when he had showed up next to her for them to start heading home. "Interesting…" Akane gave her an interesting look and Kohana shook her head. "Nothing, never mind. Continue on." Kohana gave her a smile and Akane just ignored it. "Well, needless to say, nobody was home when we got there." Akane paused and looked at Kohana to see if she was getting where she was going with this. Apparently she wasn't because she still had that interested look on her face. "Well?"

"Well what?" Kohana rolled on her side, battling internally to keep the smug smile from breaking out on her face. "What happened next?" Akane gave her a dry stare. She swore sometimes that Nabiki should be her twin instead of Hiro. "We had slightly drunken sex alright!" Kohana finally let the smile break free but only for a second as Akane's words finally registered in her brain. "Wait, wait, wait… slightly?" Akane suddenly found her toes very interesting. "Akane… what do you mean slightly?"

Akane sighed and tucked her legs under her. What did she actually mean by that? Well, she knew that she remembered almost everything. A thought occurred to her. If she remembered that much, what did Ranma remember? "Well, what I meant by that was I remember most of what happened that night." Kohana was now sitting cross-legged across from her, her attention focused on Akane. "Like what? Do you remember how it all started?" Akane shook her head. "No, but I remember _it_." She sighed again as a flashback raced through her mind.

"So let me get this straight. You were only tipsy while Ranma was drunk off his ass?" Akane made a face. "You know, I don't really know." Kohana also made a face in return. This wasn't turning out to be a good story. "Did you even ask him?" Again Akane shook her head and instantly Kohana's head dropped into her awaiting hands. She let out a low growl and Akane started playing with the hem of her uniform skirt. "Akane… you haven't even talked to him about it have you?" Instantly Akane was on the defense.

"Talk to him about it? Are you crazy?" Kohana's head snapped back up and looked into Akane's suddenly blazing eyes. "How could I talk to him anyways? He always has those stupid bimbos hanging all over him! Besides, knowing him he'd probably deny the whole thing… something along the lines of 'who would want to do that with a macho chick like you?'" Akane silenced up after her little rant and Kohana suddenly found that she suddenly didn't care too much for Ranma. Still, this whole situation wasn't right and had to be fixed some way. "Akane, like it or not, you really have to talk to him about that 'incident' if you will. Especially now that you're carrying his baby."

She turned to look at her brown haired friend as the words finished echoing themselves in her head. They stung her but it was true. She did have to talk to him, but how? "I know, I know. But what am I supposed to say to him? Just blurt out that I'm pregnant? And what about his reaction to it? What if he doesn't want it? What then?" Kohana could sense her friend's anxiety rising and placed a hand on her knee, trying to reassure her some way. "Look Akane, you never know unless you ask him." Akane only nodded in response, willing the tears in her eyes to dry up. She wasn't prepared for Kohana's next question.

"What about you Akane? Do you want to keep it?"

For the third time that day Akane had been struck silent. Before she even had time to ponder the question there was a loud knock on the door. Letting out a huge growl of frustration Kohana acknowledged the person on the other side with a loud "WHAT?!" The door cracked open to reveal a slightly scared Sano. "Uh… nee-chan, dinner's ready." Kohana was instantly apologetic as she took in the sight of her youngest sibling. "Aw, come here Sano." Slowly the boy shuffled over to her and climbed up on the bed beside her. "Gomen Sano, I didn't mean to scream at you like that." Akane watched as the two hugged each other and Kohana wrestled with him for a bit. Well, it was more like she tickled him to the point that he was going to pee on himself.

Once they were done they both turned their attention to the blue haired girl in front of them. "You gonna stay for dinner?" Akane smiled and ruffled his hair a bit. "No sweetie, I think it's about time that I make my way home." Sano's happy face fell at this but it came right back up as his older sister spoke. "Well, I guess Sano and I will have to walk you home won't we?" Akane smiled and moved to the end of the bed. "Sure why not, Sano looks like he's going to burst anyways."

Sano let out an excited "YES!" and bounded out the door and down the stairs to where his shoes awaited him. Kohana looked at Akane with a smile on her face. "He really likes you, you know. I guess it's because you remind him of mom." Akane gave Kohana a reassuring smile. Kohana was like her in many ways, having also lost her mother a couple of years ago. "Well, shall we get going? Kasumi is probably getting a bit worried about me anyways. Plus I have to get this cook book back to her; I think she planned on making something out of it tonight." Kohana's mouth watered slightly at the mention of the eldest Tendo's cooking. "Well then, we better start heading out."

They started heading out of the room when Kohana suddenly paused and looked at Akane. She surveyed her silently. She was putting on that act that Kohana hated so much, it always made her heart break knowing that she was hurting on the inside and was trying to hide it.

Akane noticed that her companion was not beside her anymore and turned only to find Kohana looking at her with a weird look on her face. "What's with you?" Kohana only shook her head and walked up beside her, placing her hand on her shoulder when she came into arm's reach. "Nothing, just… I'm here for you whenever you need me." Akane smiled genuinely at this. "I know… and thank you." Kohana smiled and the both of them made their way downstairs where the youngest member of the house was waiting for them.

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That's it... for NOW!


	5. Chapter 5

KTKG: Ok... it's been a while but here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

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Chapter Six

Akane arrived home only to find that no one was there. She walked in and removed her shoes, still trying to keep an eye out for anyone. She knew she looked horrible. Anyone who took a look at her could possibly tell that she had been crying her eyes out. She wanted to hurry to her room as soon as possible to drop her stuff off and to work on her appearance before she ran into anyone but she was stopped in her tracks as a sweet voice reached her ears.

"Akane? Is that you?"

Reluctantly Akane stopped her ascent on the stairs and turned around to make her way to the kitchen. "Hai Kasumi, it's me." She trudged into the room, the cook book in her hand. "Oh! You got it!" Akane forced a smile as she sat down next to Kasumi, setting the book in between them. "Dr. Tofu says 'hello'." A faint blush appeared on her face at the comment. "Really? How sweet of him." Akane smiled at her sister's response despite what she was feeling inside at the moment. At least someone in her family was happy.

"Akane… what's wrong?"

Akane blinked at her sister's question. She could have sworn she was just smiling. "Nothing's wrong, why do you ask that?" Kasumi's face scrunched slightly with confusion as she reached for a paper towel. "Akane… you're crying." Akane's eyes widened in horror. "I am?" Reaching up to touch her cheeks she discovered that they were indeed wet with tears. "Are you okay?"

Akane didn't know the answer to that question at the moment. Was she really okay? She had just discovered that she was with child and she was still a child herself! She didn't know how the father would feel, how HER father would feel, or the rest of her family would feel. She was confused, what was she going to do now? A hand on her shoulder brought her attention up to her older sister's worried face. "Akane… whatever it is you can tell me…" Akane's tears increased in value. Could she really tell her? What would she say? Kasumi kept her eye's trained on her youngest sister expectantly. Oh what was she saying, this was Kasumi for heaven's sake! "Akane…"

"I'm pregnant."

Kasumi was struck speechless. The look on her face was enough to make Akane break down in tears.

Not really knowing what to do Kasumi threw her arms around her sister and squeezed her tightly. Well, this was unexpected to say the least. Maybe her ears were playing tricks on her and she had heard something different. She decided that maybe it was best that she sat Akane down somewhere to get the whole story from her. Turning her attention back to the youngest Tendo she ran her fingers through her short blue hair in an attempt to calm her down. "Shh… it's okay…"

She felt her calm down a bit and sighed with relief. Thank Kami no one was home right now. "Why don't you go in the family room and I'll get some drinks then we can talk about this." Akane nodded and headed out of the kitchen. When she was sure she was out of ear range, Kasumi made her way to the fridge and let out some air, trying to calm her own self down. Her hands were shaking terribly. She wasn't prepared for something like that. Akane was the last person on her mind that she would have imagined to become a teenage mother. _Settle down Kasumi, there has to be a reasonable explanation for this. Akane isn't loose like some of her friends…_

Once she was sure that she was calm enough to pour the two some drinks, she made her way to where her sister was seated and looked her over. She looked like she had been through hell and back. Her eyes were puffy from crying and even though her hands were hidden under the table she could tell that they were shaking just as hers had been earlier. A wave of sorrow came over her as she sat down with the drinks.

"Here, drink some of this, you'll feel better." A shaky hand made its way to the glass and lifted it to equally shaky lips. Silence filled the room but Kasumi kept her composure, giving her younger sister time to gather her thoughts, as well as giving herself time to gather her own. Minutes seemed to pass by before a voice reached her ears.

"It was… I didn't mean for it to happen nee-chan."

Kasumi blinked herself out of her thoughts. "Well… how exactly did it happen?" Akane fidgeted slightly before she decided to continue on her eyes never meeting her sister's for fear of what she would see in them. "Well… you remember I told you I was going to Sayuri's party?" She saw Kasumi nod out of the corner of her eye. "Well… Ranma was there… as well as some alcohol." Kasumi choked on some spit, making Akane's head spin in her direction. Kasumi waved her off and urged her to continue her story. She wouldn't comment on anything until she had heard the whole story.

"Well… things have been really weird between Ranma and I ever since we returned from China. That day of the party, I… heard Ranma having a bad dream." Kasumi's eyebrow quirked up at this. "I actually accidentally stumbled on him having one. I was looking for him… he was curled up on his futon, shaking… he was calling my name…" Akane choked back a sob and felt Kasumi's hand on her shoulder urging her on. She let out a breath and continued on. "Anyways… I was shocked and decided not to say anything about it, things were already stressed between us because of the wedding. At the party… seeing him there… I just…. I just started drinking."

A few tears escaped her as she could feel the disappointment radiating off of her eldest sister. She couldn't blame her; she was disappointed in her own self. She couldn't believe that she had done something like that. It wasn't like her at all. But then again, when you get some alcohol in your system, and believe me she wasn't much of a drinker, she didn't really have the best judgment.

Kasumi sighed and decided that it was time for her to voice her thoughts and opinions. She wasn't about to lie and say she wasn't disappointed at her sister's actions (she should have known better than to drink when stressed), but then again she couldn't blame her, she had a lot to be stressed about, especially now with her new predicament. Although Akane didn't finish her story, Kasumi was a rather smart girl and could piece enough of it together to finish it for her.

"So let me get this straight. You and Ranma were drunk and well… yeah." Kasumi could feel the blush rise on her cheeks at the thought of her sister's actions. Akane, also blushing, nodded slightly to confirm her sister's suspicions. "So… what does he think about all this?" Akane's shoulders slumped. What did he think? They haven't talked at all about what had happened and frankly she didn't want to. "Well… I don't know…" Akane placed her head in her hands; her head was suddenly starting to hurt. "You didn't tell him?" She shook her head in response. "Akane…."

Akane suddenly slammed her hands down on the table in frustration. "How?! How am I supposed to tell him when I just found out about it today?!" Tears started rolling down her face once again and she angrily wiped at them. She hated crying, but for some reason she couldn't help it. Kasumi felt her heart break. She was just as confused as Akane was, but she couldn't really imagine what exactly she was going through. Wrapping her arms around her once again Kasumi tried to comfort her as best as she could.

"What am I going to do nee-chan? What if he doesn't want it? He already hates me as it is, he's going to really hate me after this." Kasumi began to rock them back and forth. "Don't say things like that. Ranma doesn't hate you. How could he when he's been through a lot for your sake?" Akane gave a teary snort. "Only because daddy forced him to." She felt Kasumi shaking her head and reluctantly let her words register in her head. She was right, he had been through a lot for her.

Kasumi smiled slightly seeing that Akane had calmed down a bit, all this stressing out couldn't be good for her. Suddenly the sound of people arriving home reached her ears as well as Akane's from the frightened look on her face. Her smile widened, becoming the smile that Akane was so used to seeing. "Why don't you take a bath and hurry up to your room to take a rest, you've had quite a day." Akane opened her mouth to say something but Kasumi hurried her on. "Go on before father sees you like this. I'll call you when dinner's ready. Don't worry, I won't say anything." Akane smiled and hurried up to her room to gather her bath things.

"Thanks nee-chan."

* * *

Akane plopped down on her bed with a sigh of relief. She was feeling much better now that she had taken a bath. While in the furo she had thought about what her sister had said. She knew that Ranma didn't hate her… but obviously he wasn't too fond of her either, what with the constant name calling and insulting that much was for sure. However, as of late there really hasn't been much of that. True they haven't said so much as a 'hello' to each other but as she thought about it, it was really mostly her fault for that. She couldn't help it. Every time she saw him he looked as if he wanted to say something to her but she couldn't let him get a word out. If she did, she well… she would have flash backs of what happened.

She sighed. She was having a lot of those as of late, especially when he was around her. If that happened to her when they were in the same room together she couldn't even imagine what would happen if he were to talk to her! She punched her pillow. Kasumi had a point though, she had to talk to him about it sooner or later, I mean after all in a couple of months she wasn't going to be able to hide anything at all. Maybe she would have Kasumi cook his favorite dish and stuff him; he'll be too full to care what she has to say after that.

A slight knock on her door brought her back to real life. The door opened to reveal Kasumi. "Hey Akane, dinner's ready." Akane smiled back, genuinely this time. "Thanks Kasumi, I'll be down in a minute." She noticed that Akane was unconsciously poking her stomach. Her smile growing wider, Kasumi stepped inside and closed the door behind her, slowly making her way to where Akane sat. "Let me see." Akane was confused. "See? See what?" Kasumi laughed. "Your stomach silly!"

Blushing, Akane raised her shirt and allowed her sister to prod a bit. "Well… it is a little chubby. How far along are you?" Akane poked her stomach herself, amazed at what was actually going on in there. "Um… Dr. Tofu said I'm about two months… he said I'll probably begin showing more within the next month or so." Kasumi smiled and silence filled the room.

"Nee-chan?" Kasumi jumped a bit, surprised that she had been so lost in thought. "Yes Akane?" Akane chewed on her lip for a minute before continuing on. "Are you… Are you mad at me?" Kasumi stopped and thought long and hard for what seemed like an eternity to Akane.

"You know… I wouldn't say that I'm totally accepting of the situation…" Akane's shoulders slumped and she was about to bow her head in shame when Kasumi's hand landed on her shoulder. "But, there's something I think you ought to know." She had Akane's full attention now. "Do you know how old mom was when I was born?" Akane shook her head. She had always thought that their mother was a well accomplished woman who had done everything she had ever wanted by the time she had started a family… "Sixteen."

"WHAT?!"

Now that was unexpected. How could that be? She didn't remember her mom being that young! "It's true… mother was only sixteen when I was born. She was eighteen when she had Nabiki and was Nineteen when she had you. Mother wouldn't have wanted you to follow in her footsteps, but you know what I think? I think you'll be just as wonderful as mother was, maybe even more so." She gave Akane a hug. "Besides, now that I think about it, I'm kinda excited about becoming an auntie if you decide to keep it."

Akane nodded, a little shocked by what she had just learned. "Akane, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I'll support you and help you as much as I can. Okay?" Akane squeezed her sister back as hard as she could. "Thanks Kasumi, I really appreciate it."

With that Kasumi stood and headed towards the door. "Well come on, we better hurry up and get down there before there's nothing left. Besides you're gonna need as much food as you can get."


	6. Chapter 6

KTKG says: Well… it's been a while, but I have decided not to let this story die! So here I am back with a new chapter… if anyone is still out there reading it, you know what to do… REVIEW!

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The dojo was quiet.

Okay… make that unbearably quiet.

Sighing he rolled over on his side and placed his arm under his head, propping it up so that he could look across the koi pond. A fish jumped up suddenly, breaking the silence for a moment and also breaking through Ranma's slight trance. He sighed for what seemed to be the millionth time that morning and sat up, deciding that he was wasting his time just sitting there spacing out.

Slowly he got to his feet, dusting off his pants before settling into a warm-up stance. In the blink of an eye he had launched himself into his warm up katas, drowning himself in concentration on his movements, anything to take his mind off the subject at hand. And what would that be you ask?

Akane.

She had been missing in action lately, well, ever since the 'incident' as he had come to dub the situation. She was deliberately ignoring him, avoiding him every time that they came into contact. If they bumped into each other in the hallway she wouldn't say a word, just turn around and walk away. At dinner they would still sit together but there was no kind of interaction, no arguing, no mallet swinging, no…. nothing.

Abruptly he stopped in his warm up and plopped right back down on the floor where he had been earlier.

What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he so concerned about Akane not hitting him, or yelling at him, or even, dare he say it, malleting him. He looked out across the koi pond again and it hit him. It wasn't all of that that he was missing, it was something else entirely. He missed their sparring and training sessions, when she laughed, and occasionally when she smiled at him with that genuine smile of hers. He missed all of that. Akane was, when it really all came down to it, his friend. No, wait, make that his best friend.

He flopped backwards, his back making a slight squishing noise thanks to the sweat that had accumulated on it from his morning warm up. Staring up at the ceiling, he felt his heart wrench a bit at the thought that was currently running wild in his head.

"I can't believe that I'm about to say this, but… I miss Akane."

A slight gasp reached his ears the minute that his words finished echoing off the walls of the dojo. His head whipped to the left only to see the person that was the object of his current obsession. "A-Akane?"

Her eyes were wide, with wonder, amazement, or horror he wasn't quite sure. He couldn't see her entire body thanks to the fact that it was hidden by the doorway, the only thing visible being her head and left arm which was currently clutching the wood frame.

They stared at each other in silence; Akane in amazement at the words that had just escaped his lips and Ranma in amazement that she was even there looking at him. He sat there waiting for her to move from around the door but she remained still, something he found odd but given the circumstances he didn't question her actions.

Unconsciously behind the screen Akane rubbed the small bump of her stomach, trying to swallow some spit but finding instead that her mouth had suddenly gone dry. Did she really just hear those words come out of his mouth? No, she couldn't have. She was just imagining things. Right? She didn't know, especially with the way that he was looking at her now. There was something in his storm-blue eyes that told her his unintentionally leaked words held truth in them. They still remained locked in a gazing contest, waiting for the other to break the silence and say something.

"Um… Kasumi wanted me to tell you that breakfast is ready."

She mentally kicked herself. That sounded so lame, was that the best she could come up with? Then again, she was still in a slight shock about what she had just heard. Ranma on the other hand looked as if he had seen a ghost. "What? What's wrong with you?" Shaking his head slightly he moved to his all-too-familiar position of sitting on the floor cross-legged.

"Nothing, just… I haven't seen you in a while." After his sentence finished echoing off the walls, Akane suddenly found her feet to be very interesting. A sudden feeling of guilt washed over her and she didn't know why. He hadn't wanted to see her right? As she looked at him, she found that his face was telling her different. "So, uh… where have you been?"

She gave him a dry stare then, finally fed up with all the tension going on between them. She knew what he really wanted to ask, and mentally she knew she was ready to tell him his answer, although emotionally she wasn't sure she could handle it. "Ranma, why don't you ask me the question that's really on your mind?" It was more of a statement than a question and for a moment Ranma remained silent.

"Why have you been avoiding me? You know… ever since the… well… ever since we…"

Sighing she made her way from around the screen and over to him, coming around and sitting on the other side of him, training her eyes on the sunlit koi pond. Ranma shifted slightly and surveyed her, a questioning look on his face when he noticed what she was wearing. It was way too hot for her to be wearing a sweatshirt; it was the middle of August for crying out loud! The look on her face however told him that he shouldn't question it. For some reason he knew that he was going to get his answer in a second.

"It was a mistake right? We were drunk, so… it's no big deal." She kept her eyes trained forward as she spoke, not even looking at him out of the corner of her eye. Narrowing his eyes he watched her as she spoke. There was something bothering her, but what? He decided to let her continue on. "Don't worry Ranma, we can pretend as if nothing happened…"

He remained silent, observing her as she continued looking out at the pond and unconsciously moved closer. She frowned as she felt the closeness of him, which made her squirm a bit. She was being bombarded with memories of that night, something that had a habit of happening lately every time that he was within arm's length of her. The closer he was the more vivid and detailed the memories were.

"There's another reason why you have been avoiding me." She quickly turned her head away, sticking her nose in the air with a defiant snort. "There's not." Ranma shook his head, despite what she thought, after living with somebody for over two years; you do get to know everything about them. "Akane, believe it or not I know when you're lying cause your ears turn red at the top."

Akane's head slowly turned back to face him, their eyes meeting once again. Could she really tell him? She thought she was ready, Kasumi told her that it was time that he knew, but now… now she wasn't so sure. "Akane…" She felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes, but she remained silent, willing herself not to cry as he took her hand in his, something that was so unlike him. That was when she really felt guilty, for waiting so long to tell him and also for making him worry.

"Akane… I'm sorry for what happened… I don't blame you for hating me …" A few tears escaped her eyes as he took her other hand in his to further his point. He was apologizing? He thought that she hated him? "Oh Ranma…" He blinked as he felt her squeeze his hand and her face began to scrunch up with more unshed tears.

The first thing he felt was fear, she was crying. He never knew what to do when she cried, especially over something he did, which was really most of the time. The second thing he felt was shock, shock because she had suddenly let go of his hand and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing tightly. His eyes widened a bit when he felt her stomach press against him. Something wasn't right about that feeling…

"I'm sorry Ranma…"

His train of thought was cut short as Akane's teary apology reached his ears. "W-What?" She didn't let go, her grip only tightening with her next few sentences. "I should have told you earlier, I was scared… After all, this is something that you'd want with Ukyo or Shampoo or…" At the mentioning of those names he quickly pulled her from him, trying to look her in the eyes which she chose to hide behind her bangs. "Whoa whoa whoa … 'Kane, what are you talking about? What would I want with one of those two?"

Silence ensued and all that reached his ears were her quiet sniffles and a random fish breaking through the water's surface. "Akane…?" Slowly she looked up at him, tear-stained face meeting a confused one, and moved her hands to his wrists. "Ranma… I should have told you…" His face scrunched up in further confusion if that was even possible. "Should have told me what?" In one swift movement she had placed his hands on her stomach and pressed firmly, making his eyes grow wide. "Geez 'Kane, you've really been packing on some pounds…" his words were cut short however as Akane had decided to dig her nails into his wrist as hard as she could.

"Ranma you baka… I'm pregnant."

All facial expressions left his face as did color. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" She let up on his wrist a bit. "I'm pregnant Ranma." "As in…" She couldn't believe it, was he really asking her this question? Anger suddenly burst through her and she leapt to her feet. "I'm having a baby baka, and it's yours!"

Ranma was, to say the least, speechless and in all honesty it sort of scared Akane. Ranma was rarely speechless, and when he was, everything about him was unreadable. She stood there looking at him with a worried look on her face. What would he say? Would he tell her to get rid of it? She still had time, but she couldn't do it, not at all. "Ranma…" She felt her heart clench slightly and she knew what was coming next so her next words were a bit hurried. "You… you don't have to be here if you don't want to. I would appreciate it if you were though, but I'm not forcing you. I'm also not doing this to trap you in to any commitment that you don't want; you're free to be with whomever you want to be with."

With that she was out the door and down the hall to the bathroom, her stomach not able to hold down last night's dinner or the emotions that were running through her. Ranma sat facing the koi pond, his gaze glazed over and unfocused. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Suddenly another fish had broken through the water's surface once again, this time startling him a bit. Sighing he flopped backwards, a soft thud emitting as his head came into contact with the dojo floor.

This was going to be a long couple of months.

What was he going to do? If this information got out to anyone, there was no telling what was going to happen. Those three psycho girls would be there in no time flat, attacking poor Akane, and he absolutely wouldn't have that happen, especially now that he knew she was carrying his child.

His child.

That was a weird thought that he never would have imagined that he would be thinking right about now. They were only seventeen, well, almost technically eighteen, but that's still really young to become parents. His thoughts suddenly flew to Akane. Was she planning on keeping the baby? He didn't even know how far along she was. Who else knew? Did their fathers? No, if they knew about it they would have already been married and he was pretty sure someone's room would have already been converted into a nursery.

Slowly he rose to his feet, making his way cautiously to the family room for breakfast. He needed to eat something and clear his head, but really he needed to talk to Akane. There was so much he needed to talk to her about, so much they had to figure out. Everything was so confusing between them, not like it wasn't before but now it was just getting out of hand. And to think that this all happened because they went to Sayuri's stupid party. One thought and one thought only ran through his mind as he sat down to the delicious breakfast in front of him…

Damn Sayuri and alcohol to hell.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Akane sat in her room, staring out of her window. She had started writing in her journal, well her journal that she had decided to start recently. She never really was one to write down her thoughts and feelings. She was rather one to take her thoughts and feelings out on practice dummies and Ranma.

Ranma.

She didn't know what to think or do about him. The way he looked when she broke the news to him tore at her heart. She didn't know what to think of the expression that he gave her. Was he mad? Shocked? Hurt? Disgusted? What?

She hadn't seen or heard from him all day. After she got done chucking up last night's dinner, she went to see if Ranma was still on the floor of the dojo like she had left him, but instead found that he was, well, nowhere to be found. She had looked all over the house for him, and when he was nowhere to be found she stopped searching. Kasumi had said that he probably was down by the river, that he probably needed time to breathe and think about what she had just told him. After all, becoming a parent was a big thing.

After talking with her sister she had decided that she would retreat to her room. She knew Ranma, when he was ready to talk to her he would come find her, he always knew where find her. "Uh…" She let out a small groan as she reached for her head. Suddenly she felt nauseated, plus her head was spinning. She needed to lay down, hopefully by doing that she'd feel better, plus she was feeling tired anyways.

Boy this was going to be a long seven months.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There was a slight tapping noise on her window, soft but loud enough to wake her from her sleep. Slowly she opened her eyes only to find that she was staring at the wall which was a dark gray in color thanks to the lack of light outside. Dark? When did it get dark? She looked at the clock on her nightstand which read a little after eight. When did she fall asleep? She had only planned on laying down for a little bit, not sleeping for eight hours.

The sound of tapping reached her ears again and she turned towards her window only to see a shadow of a figure there. Any other girl would be frightened out of her mind at a sight like this, but Akane wasn't any other girl. In fact this was common thing that she would see any given night. She wasn't afraid, she knew exactly who it was, and that pigtail gave it all away.

Deftly she rose from her lying position and walked softly over to the window, unlocking it and then moving back into place on her bed. Instantly she started to fidget with her hands as she heard him enter her room. There was silence, then a very shy tenor "hey". She smiled to herself in the darkness. "So… uh… where have you been?" her eyes widened a bit when he sat next to her on the bed instead of on her desk like he usually did. "I've been out thinking…"

There was silence once again, but this time it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Akane continued to look at her hands while Ranma stared straight ahead at her closet. It was always awkward like this when he would come talk to her late at night, but after a couple of minutes (or hour depending on how or what the topic of conversation was) the air would lighten around them and they would talk like they had been friends all their lives.

"So what were you thinking about?"

He sighed heavily and she inwardly winced. Then again this wasn't every other night and the topic was something that she would have thought they wouldn't be having anytime soon. "I've been thinking about our child." She stopped her hand fidgeting immediately as his words reached her ears, and her spit caught in her throat. "Oh, uh… so…" Her words died off before she could even express what was on her mind. Then again, nothing was really on her mind. She was scared what he was going to say, would he want it or would he….

"Is this what you really want?"

She felt tears burning her eyes. Oh Kami, this was it. This was when he was going to tell her that he didn't want it, that either she was going to get rid of it or he was going to have nothing to do with her, not that they were involved romantically like that anyways. "Akane…" She shut her eyes tightly and willed herself not to cry. This was it… this was really it…

"If this is what you really want… then I'm here for you. I'll be here to help you with whatever you want me to."

Before she knew it, her head had snapped in his direction, searching his face for any sign of truth, but it was too dark to see anything. Was he for real? Was this what he really wanted too? "Yes Ranma, this is what I really want, but… if it's not what you want you don't have to be here if you don't want to."

Ranma couldn't believe what he was hearing, were her ears glued shut? He had just said that he was going to be there for her no matter what she decided to do, and now she was telling him that he didn't have to be there for her and their child? Damn, he knew that she was stubborn but this? This is unbelievable. "Akane! Did you not hear what I just said?" She sighed and leaned backwards in the bed until her back rested against the wall, then scratched her stomach, for some reason it had been itching a lot lately.

"Ranma, did you just hear what I said? If you don't want to be here you don't have to. I don't want you to feel that you're obligated to be here if you don't want to. I know how you are about feeling honor bound and what not, but I'm telling you to forget all about that. I'm telling you that you can let all of that go and be honest with yourself and me for once. If this is something that you really don't want, you can tell me, and I won't be angry about it. This is my decision; I don't want to make you do something you don't want to."

He stared at her in the darkness, watched her as she spoke, and literally felt his heart break with each word that fell from her lips. Did she know what she was suggesting? She was telling him that he didn't have to be in their child's life, something that no matter how unprepared for it as he was, he wouldn't do. "Akane, I'm not my father…"

Her mouth snapped shut. He wasn't like his father? What was that supposed to mean? He sensed her confusion and not wanting to explain anything just waved it off. "Look, never mind that, just… just understand that I will be here, no if and's or but's about it. This is my kid too right? I'm not going to leave this to you to handle all by yourself. What kind of man would I be?" She kept herself quiet, deciding that there was no way this was going to go her way. But then again as she sat there she realized that she really did want him to be saying the things that he currently was.

"Okay Ranma, if you're really serious about this then… okay. I won't keep second guessing you." Pleased with how this conversation ended, Ranma settled himself in her bed in the same position she was in, eyeing her stomach the whole time. He couldn't believe what he was informed about today. Akane was pregnant, with his child. It was like his dream had come true, just a little earlier than he had imagined. Wait, scratch that, make that WAY earlier than he had imagined.

As soon as he finished his breakfast in record time that morning, he had ventured out in the streets of Nerima, trying to get his thoughts and feelings together. Luck seemed to be on his side today, seeing as nobody had bothered him. After wandering for a while he had found a bench that was oddly familiar to him. He had observed it for a while and finally it clicked in his head why it seemed like he knew the bench pretty well. It was the bench that he had held Akane on after he had managed to get her out of that stupid armor. He smiled slightly, seeing the mark that his body had left in the bench when its paint was wet.

That's where he had sat and thought about everything. What they could do, what the others would try to do, how they could possibly avoid drama, how he would get rid of all the fiancées, and finally how he would confess his feelings to Akane. The more he thought about it, the more he didn't regret what happened between them. The only thing he regretted was that he couldn't remember anything save for a couple of flashes here and there.

As he thought about his little adventure this morning, he suddenly remembered the couple of questions that he had for her. "Akane, who all knows about this?"

Akane stopped scratching her stomach for a moment and looked at him, trying to read his facial expression. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark now so it was a bit easier to read his face. He seemed concerned and she knew exactly why. "Don't worry about it Ranma, only a few people." He wasn't too pleased with that answer so he decided to pry further. "A few people like who?" Akane sighed and shifted slightly. "Kasumi, Dr. Tofu, and Kohana. Don't worry; it's nobody that's going to spill the beans without me wanting them to."

Ranma made a face slightly at the mention of Kohana's name and Akane sighed. She thought that he got along with her, even if Kohana didn't really approve of him yet. "Look, Kohana was with me when I went in to see Tofu, and well, seeing as she's one of my best friends I felt like I could tell her what he had told me." Ranma really made a face at that comment and Akane had suddenly found herself trying to hold in her anger. What did he have against Kohana anyways?

"One of your best friends? So you mean that Yuka and Sayuri also know too then?" She gave him a confused glance then. What was he trying to say? Oh. "Ranma, Sayuri and Yuka aren't my best friends…" Ranma was suddenly silent. Akane had said best friends, as in plural, meaning more than one. If those two weren't her other best friends then who was it? "Uh, 'Kane? Who uh…" She could tell that he was uncomfortable with the question he wanted an answer to. Didn't he know already? She giggled slightly at him. Sometimes he really could be cute.

"Believe it or not, it's you Ranma… you are my best friend."

Ranma didn't know why, but suddenly he was smiling, and smiling widely for that matter. She considered him her best friend. He glanced at her exposed stomach lit up by the moonlight just outside her window and suddenly was overcome with the extreme want to touch it. Hesitantly he reached a hand out and slowly placed it on the creamy skin, marveling at how soft and hot the skin was, marveling at the fact that there was life growing in there.

Akane's eyes widened at the sudden and affectionate motion that Ranma had made, but she made no move to stop him. After a minute or so she placed her hand on top of his, smiling at how warm it was. She glanced at his face and that's when she saw it, unshed tears in his eyes and concern etched all over his face. It was so unlike him to look like that. Something must have really been bothering him. Maybe later she would ask him about it. "Don't worry Akane; I think we're going to be okay. In fact, I know we will." He blinked a couple of times; to get rid of the tears is what she guessed. A thought however popped into her head. "What… what about the others?" She didn't want to voice the question, but it fell from her lips before she could do anything about it.

He rubbed her stomach gently, his hand smoothing over the growing bump as slowly as possible. "We'll just have to see." He looked in her eyes suddenly, the intensity of them surprising her slightly. "Akane, whatever happens, I promise that I'll keep you safe, I won't let them or anybody else do anything to you." She smiled at his words, her thumb rubbing against the back of his hand in small circles. "I know you won't." Suddenly she wanted to kiss him, but she held back. Things were going so nice between them, she didn't want to go and do something that would freak him out.

Trying to distract herself so that she wouldn't be tempted to give in to her desires, she glanced at the clock on her desk. "Ranma, it's getting pretty late. Maybe you should get going to bed?" He considered her suggestion for a second then shook his head. "Actually, for some reason I'm not that tired. Do you… uh… do you wanna watch some TV or something?" Akane found herself smiling again for the second time that night. "Sure Ranma, let me change into something a little more comfortable and then I'll meet you downstairs."

Nodding, he stood and exited her room quietly, but not before answering her unvoiced concern. "If you're wondering, everyone went out the movies and dinner. Kasumi was going to ask you if you wanted to go too but you were out cold so she decided to let you rest. Something about you probably being stressed out. Anyways, she said that they probably wouldn't be back till late." Akane sighed in relief and nodded, signaling Ranma out of the room.

A few minutes later, Akane made her way down the stairs and into the family room where Ranma sat clicking away through the channels. She caught his attention as she sat down next to him, or rather her new attire did. She was wearing a pair of her running shorts and a plain white t-shirt. His eyes wandered over her figure and he noticed how much she was actually showing (not to mention how big her chest was getting), and it was obvious that they wouldn't be able to keep this secret for long. She let out a sigh as she stretched her legs out underneath the table. "Anything good on?"

He shrugged and handed her the remote. Instantly she started flipping through the channels trying to find anything interesting. Settling on an old kung-fu movie she set the remote down and leaned forward on the table, resting her head on her arms. They sat in silence as they watched the movie a bit, until Ranma decided to break the silence. "Hey 'Kane?" She grunted in response, not taking her eyes off the screen for a second. "I don't regret a thing." Her head snapped up in his direction only to see him heading off in the direction of the kitchen.

She watched his broad-shouldered figure as he walked away, his words finally making sense to her. Her face broke out into a smile so wide she was sure that her face was going to split in half.

"Neither do I Ranma, neither do I."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

KTKG says: Okay. I know that you guys probably have a couple of questions… well….maybe more than that. For those of you who are wondering, yes, Akane is indeed showing for being three months. If you think about it, Akane is a rather small girl. I thought about my cousin when I was writing this, seeing as she was small and when she was three months preggie she looked like she had swallowed a ball.

SO! With that said, I would love it if you would review and let me know if you liked it or not… also I'm up for any suggestions or ideas that you guys might have!

Take care!!!!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Ranma, seriously, this is going to be the absolute last time that I'm going to ask you NICELY to QUIT SQUIRMING!"

Ranma stopped his fidgeting long enough to give Akane a quick glance before turning back around to what he was doing before, annoyingly bouncing his knee up and down while twiddling his thumbs. "Sorry 'Kane, I can't help it, I don't really care too much for doctors and hospitals, you know that." Akane rolled her eyes, trying desperately to ignore his movements. Giving up however, she slapped her hand down on his knee rather hard, making him stop immediately.

"You could have fooled me. As much as you visit Dr. Tofu you'd think you'd be right at home here." Ranma had to suddenly resist the urge to stick out his tongue at Akane's smirk but instead decided that his own comeback would be better. "Those trips were involuntary and courtesy of your tomboyish temper." Akane's anger spiked suddenly and she was about to give him a good whack when she was interrupted by her name being called.

"Akane Tendo?"

Both teen's heads snapped up and in the direction of a pleasant looking nurse. Slowly Akane turned back to shoot on more death glare in his direction before standing and heading in the direction of the woman. He surprised her however as he stood also and followed. As they approached the woman she bowed slightly and they did the same in return.

"Good morning Akane. Come right this way."

Obediently she followed as did Ranma. As they rounded a corner they stopped suddenly in front of what looked to be a scale. Immediately Akane's stomach dropped. She did not want to do this, especially with Ranma with her. The nurse must have sensed her discomfort because she smiled softly at her. "Oh don't worry about it too much, just hop on and hop off." Akane still didn't seem too thrilled about the aspect of her weight being thrown out there. She knew she was going to be gaining some weight and really she was fine with that, it was just the fact that she had to do it in front of him. He'd never let her live down the fact that she was actually FAT.

Swallowing her pride Akane stepped on the scale and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the nurse to yell her weight out to the whole clinic. After a couple of seconds when no amount was announced, Akane slowly cracked an eye open only to find the nurse scribbling something down on her clipboard. She caught the nurse's gaze and the nurse gave her a slight wink before ushering them into a nearby room.

Inside the room, the nurse took Akane's blood pressure and asked her a few simple questions and left them to let the doctor know that they were ready for him.

Silence filled the tiny room, Akane sitting on the examining table and Ranma on the chair next to the desk. Unconsciously she started to swing her legs, nervous about what was to come. One glance at Ranma twiddling his thumbs and bouncing his knees yet again told her that he was feeling the same way. Their eyes locked and Ranma was about to say something when there was a knock on the door, squashing any amount of courage he had managed to muster up. The door knob started to turn, signaling that someone was about to enter and immediately both teens stopped what they were doing and straightened up as the doctor made his entrance.

Akane's eyes widened as she caught sight of her doctor, while Ranma's face however dropped.

Gorgeous. He was absolutely gorgeous.

Akane felt her face flush as he flashed her a smile. "Hello there Akane, my name is Dr. Wayama. I'll be your doctor got the next couple of months." Akane opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Ranma clearing his throat rather loudly. "Oh I'm sorry… I didn't know Akane had brought someone with her. Am I correct to assume you're the father?" Ranma sat up taller and nodded with a serious face, causing Akane to roll her eyes as the doctor took a seat at the desk.

"First off let me say congratulations on the baby you two. I'm sure your family is happy for you." Akane stiffened slightly at the comment but the doctor didn't seem to notice, Ranma however had. "Um, yeah… absolutely thrilled!" She didn't sound too convincing but the doctor had bought the response none-the-less. "That's good to hear. What about you two? Are you guys excited?" Ranma's face was instantly on Akane's face as she gave a genuine smile. "Excited as ever!" For some reason, he had let out s sigh of relief he didn't know he had been holding.

"Okay… great. Now let's get started."

Dr. Wayama instructed Akane to lie down on her back and to get comfortable as he began to lift her shirt a bit. Ranma was about to almost launch out of his seat until he caught the look Akane was giving him Sullenly he settled back into his seat as Dr. Wayama spread some clear gel on her slightly rounded stomach. Silence filled the room as he probed Akane's stomach with what looked like a remote. He stopped as a sound like a beating pulse filled the room. Akane and Ranma's eyes locked and slowly she tore them away to look questioningly at the man standing above her. "What… what's that?" He smiled warmly at her.

"That my dear, is your baby's heart beating."

For the second time in his life so far, Ranma found himself speechless.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rain poured down on them in sheets, but neither of teen seemed to be bothered by the sound of the drops hitting the tops of their umbrellas. Instead they were locked in a pretty heated conversation.

"Oh come off it, you were jealous… admit it." Ranma huffed as they entered a convenience store, careful not to let any of the rain fall on him as they let down their umbrellas. "No, I wasn't. Why, should I be?" Akane smirked to herself as they headed down the fruit isle. For some reason grapes were the only thing she could really eat at the moment without getting sick. "Okay, if you weren't so jealous, then why'd you nearly throw a fit when he asked me a question about my breasts?"

Instantly Ranma's face reddened as the words fell from her lips and she struggled to suppress a giggle. He was so innocent when he wanted to be. "Well… it was an inappropriate to ask if you ask me." She rolled her eyes again as she grabbed a bag off of the display. "You dolt. He only asked me that because he wanted to know if they were really hurting me or not." Ranma seemed not to hear, too engrossed in his sudden dislike for Dr. Wayama. Shrugging she made her way to the checkout isle, a distracted Ranma behind her.

Once back outside Ranma couldn't help but think of the first question the doctor had asked about their family's reaction to her being pregnant. Akane had blatantly lied, seeing as no one else knew about it. Okay wait, he took that back, Kasumi knew, just not everyone else.

"Hey 'Kane?"

His short companion turned her face slightly, looking at him expectantly but his words caught in his throat. While it had been true that Akane had been packing on a few pounds, it didn't look horrible. Her face had become much rounder, giving her an almost childish look. It looked cute on her and he found that he could stare at her all day if allowed, but then he noticed the look of anger in her eyes and he remembered what he had originally called her name for.

"How're we going to tell our dads about this?"

Akane stopped dead in her tracks, causing Ranma to worry a bit at the look on her face.

Akane was stuck, literally. She had been thinking lately about it. Telling them that they had secretly eloped was one thing. Telling them that he had knocked her up was something totally different. Kasumi had been nice about it, but Nabiki on the other hand would probably sell the information as soon as it would drop from her lips. Shaking her head she let her eyes meet back up with Ranma's, letting out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know."

Ranma turned his head to the side in concentration. Unbeknown to Akane, Ranma actually had a plan, well… sort of. More like an idea he had that he wasn't really planning on sharing if Akane had a better idea seeing as she usually does. Oh well, something's better than nothing right? "Let's tell my mom first."

Akane's eyes widened. His mom? Was he serious? Ranma caught the confused look in her eyes and began to explain himself.

"Well, think about it. Nothing could be worse than knowing that your only son who was taken away at an early age to become a 'man among men' turns into a girl with cold water."

Hm. He had a point there.

"Okay, maybe you're right. Maybe if we tell her and explain to her what our dilemma is she can help us out. Besides, she and my mother were good friends, I'm sure she'll know what to do." Ranma nodded but was slightly confused. What did their moms having been really good friends have anything to do with it? He shrugged it off. He'll probably just have to ask her about it later.

"Alright, let's get home and we'll give her a call. I'm sure she won't be out in this weather."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nabiki was bored.

Her two biggest cash cows were missing and so seemed everyone else in their circle of friends (or enemies… whatever you want to call them). According to Kasumi, Akane had an appointment and Ranma had decided to accompany her. She clicked through another channel as she pondered her last thought. That in itself was strange. Ranma never accompanied Akane anywhere unless it was to school or against his will by their parents,. Apparently he had decided to go of his free will.

The door slid open and shut and Nabiki's attention was off the television. Ah, they were home. Now to grill them when they came in through the family room about what was up and why they were acting so strange.

After about a couple of seconds without their presence, Nabiki decided to go do some investigating on her own. Quietly she set the remote down and made her way down the hallway. As she neared the entrance she stopped quietly when she heard a hushed conversation by the telephone.

"Are you sure no one important is home?"

"Shut up baka, I'm positive. If there is anyone like that home chances are they're already too preoccupied. Now hurry up and make the phone call so we can get this over with."

Nabiki's eyebrows rose in confusion, but she pushed herself closer to the wall in case someone turned around and spotted her. "Hey mom? Hey, it's me Ranma." Nabiki's head jerked around the corner. What? His mom? Why would Ranma calling his mom be so secretive? She was going to turn away having suddenly lost interest until the next few words caught her ears. "Yeah… um… I have something really important to tell you…"

Jackpot.

A million things were currently running through her mind. Ranma as calling his mother to tell her that he and Akane had decided to get married. Or maybe they had already eloped! She could see the yen signs now. She forced herself to quiet down internally as she heard Ranma's voice start up again. A tap on her shoulder however diverted her attention much to her dismay. With a un-Nabiki-like frown on her face she turned around slowly only to come face to face with none other than Kasumi. Kasumi also had a frown on her face.

"Hey Kasumi… what's up?" She wanted to get this conversation over as quickly as possible seeing as she was missing out on her priority conversation behind her. Kasumi's response was her hands being placed on her hips. "Nabiki… I know what you're doing and I want you to knock it off this instant. You caused those two enough pain with your spying." Nabiki felt a sharp pang in her chest at the comment and opened her mouth to retaliate when she was cut off by Akane calling for Kasumi to answer the phone. With one final and meaningful glare Kasumi's face returned to its normal smiling one and she made her way to a waiting Ranma and Akane.

Nabiki stood for a moment letting Kasumi's words sink in as she crossed her arms. Whatever, it wasn't her fault that the wedding had got trashed. Technically it was Ranma's for having so many crazy fiancées and not knowing how to deal with them. Giving a quick huff she turned and headed up the stairs, completely missing Ranma gently helping Akane out of her shoes and coat.

Something was up and she was going to find out exactly what is was.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Akane's stomach churned slightly as yet another plate was brought out from the kitchen. Not only did all the food upset her stomach slightly, but Nabiki staring at her from the seat across from her also contributed to it. Nabiki knew something was up and she was waiting for Akane to spill it.

Nodoka had been pleased with the information, that was until she realized that the two were still teens and they weren't even married yet. Ranma had mumbled something into the phone that Akane hadn't quite caught but whatever it had been it seemed to calm the elder woman down a bit. After the initial shock had worn off she had asked to talk to Kasumi and together the two had hatched a plan. Apparently that plan had been to stuff the two silly before breaking the news to them.

Akane turned slightly to gaze at Ranma. He seemed as nervous as she was. He caught her gaze and catching her off guard gave her hand a reassuring squeeze underneath the table.

Nodoka and Kasumi had finally brought out the last of the plates and joined the rest of the family. "Wow, you two really out did yourselves this time? So what's the occasion?" Nabiki smirked from across the table at Akane but Nodoka had answered before she could. "Well… it's a bit of a celebration of sorts I guess. Why don't we eat first and then we'll talk about it afterwards." Soun let out a laugh as did Genma. "Well that sounds like a great idea to me! Let's dig in!"

The rest of the dinner went as normally as possibly, that is if you ignore the fact that Ranma wasn't inhaling his food for once and Akane and Nabiki were locked in a staring contest for the whole dinner.

Once the last of the dishes had been consumed, Genma and Soun stretched back contently, their bellies full and not a care in the world floating around in their heads. Akane suddenly had a glimmer of hope as did Ranma that maybe; just maybe their plan would work. Still… something was telling Akane that this wasn't going to go as smooth as she had hoped.

"So… what's the celebration about?"

Akane's breath hitched in her throat and Nabiki's smile widened almost threatening to split her face apart. Kasumi placed a hand on Akane's knee under the table simultaneously shoot Nabiki a warning look. "Well honey, Akane actually has something she wanted to announce." The two older men's attention was on Akane suddenly and she felt she could die right then and there.

Silence filled the room. Soun waited as patiently as possible. What could his baby girl have to tell him, and what's taking her so long? Normally when Akane had good news she couldn't wait to spill it. Soun pondered this for a second and suddenly his he could hear his heart beating in his ears. This couldn't be good. She was too quiet, not to mention she had waited until after dinner to tell him and not before like normal. His anxiety was getting the best of him. "Akane…" A squeeze from both Kasumi and Ranma brought her out of her daze and gave her a sudden boost of confidence.

"Daddy… I'm… I'm pregnant."

Nabiki's smirk vanished in an instant as total and utter shock took over her features. Genma was stuck between a rock and a hard place, not knowing whether to be happy or upset. And last but not least Soun could have sworn he was currently having a heart attack. "You're… you're… but who…?" He didn't even have to finish his sentence, Akane knew exactly what he was asking. "Ranma daddy… Ranma's the father." Nabiki promptly fainted; this was just too much information to take in at once.

Soun was quiet for a second, taking all of this in, before he launched himself full speed at Ranma. "Daddy NO!" Soun managed to stop himself as Akane jumped in between the two. "Ranma you scoundrel! How could you do this to my baby girl!" Ranma's face twisted up in anger. "Now hold on a minute Mr. Tendo! As much as you and pops have been pushing for us to get together you should be happy for us!" Ranma could have sworn he saw smoke coming from Soun's nostrils at his statement. "You just ruined her whole life!"

Akane's anger finally bubbled over. "Daddy! Was that how you felt when mom was pregnant with Kasumi!?" Souns head snapped to the side. "What did you say?" Akane pushed Ranma back down into a seated position and plopped down next to him. "You heard me, you think I don't know? It isn't just Ranma's fault, it takes two to make a baby." Soun sat back and glanced at Kasumi with a knowing glance. "She's right, Soun." His eyes shifted to Nodoka, and he took a calming breath before he crossed his arms. His eyes locked with the two teens across the table from him. "Well then I guess it's safe to say that you two will be getting married then." Ranma was about to respond when he was cut off by Akane.

"No."

Ranma's heart stopped for a second. Nodoka was shocked as was everyone else. "Akane, sweetie, you can't actually mean that?" Soun slammed his hands on the table. "This is not a matter of choice Akane, you and Ranma are getting married and that's final." Akane's face scrunched up and she slammed her hands down also, mimicking her father. "I said no." She rose from her seated position, as Soun began to speak again but she cut him off. "I said no and that's final. We're not getting married and I'm keeping this baby."

With that she was up and out the door, leaving the rest of the family members shocked and amazed behind her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

KTKG: Alright… sorry this chapter is so short. I wrote it pretty fast but trust me, the next chapter will be much better. And oh! Does anyone have any suggestions who the first 'frienemy' should be to be confronted? Let me know!


	9. Chapter 9

KTKG says: Okay… so I know it's been a really long time since I've updated this but I promise I've had really good reason… anyways all that matters is I'm back with a new chapter and I hope you guys out there are still reading this and enjoying it…. I really appreciate those of you who have reviewed and encouraged me to continue.

Enjoy!

Chapter 9

A million thoughts were running through his head, drowning out the burning sensation in his lungs as the cold air whipped at his face. Where could she have run off to? Did she really mean what she said back at the house? His heart contracted at the thought. There was no way she meant that, there had to be a reason why she would say something so outrageous as that and when he found her, he was going to find out exactly what that was.

A loud crackle of thunder rumbled above him but he ignored it, running forward but not really knowing where he was going, just allowing his thoughts of her guide him.

Eventually he found himself at the river by the bridge and instantly he was lost in thought. How many times had he himself come here when he was confused about something, or in extreme cases when he was kicked out of the house for something he had done, and she had come here to find and comfort him. Lightning lit the sky and out of the corner of his eye he spotted her, knees drawn up and arms wrapped around them. She was staring out at the water, but not really looking at anything; she was lost in thought like he had been earlier as he ran.

Slowly he approached her, not really sure what her current mood was. He began to speed up however when he noticed the two rivers of tears that were currently streaking her face. Quietly he sat down beside her. Not sure what to do, he stared at her, drinking every possible detail in that he could. She was clearly in distress, but still as beautiful as ever to him. She turned suddenly to look at him and his breath caught in his throat. He forgot to breathe altogether though when she suddenly wrapped her arms around his mid-section and buried her face in his chest.

He didn't move an inch. After a second or two he tested his limits with her by wrapping an arm around her shoulders. When she didn't hit him he sighed with relief and rested his head on top of hers. Her tears had stopped now but she still didn't move away from him. Ranma took this as a good and bad sign. He decided not to ruin the moment so he remained silent. He knew Akane, she would talk when she was ready.

Minutes seemed to pass by without much notice when she finally took a breath and pulled away from him a bit. An odd feeling of disappointment filled him but he ignored it, he would think about it later after he had got to the bottom of her strange reaction to them getting married.

"I'm sorry they made you come out here to find me."

His head snapped in her direction, appalled that she would think something like that. Was she implying that he didn't care enough to come after her? "I know they always make you come for me even when it's not your fault." Ranma's face softened a bit as she finally looked up at him, his former anger dissipating quickly. "Um… no one forced me to come. I was already heading after you as soon as you were out the door." A small smile played on her lips as she turned her face back out the river, watching as the now falling rain made little dimples across the surface.

"Is daddy still angry at me?" She felt him shrug and took a deep breath before voicing her next question. "Are you relieved that you don't have to marry me?" Ranma froze suddenly as it dawned on him why she said what she had. He turned to look at her with a bit of a shocked expression on his face. She looked nervous but he ignored it, his voice startling him as much as it did her.

"Are you serious?"

Hurt flashed across her face and he instantly backtracked to search for the right words. He didn't want to confess anything unless he really knew how she felt. Maybe now was as good a time as any to figure it out. "Why would you think something like that?" She almost looked embarrassed for a second until anger took over. "Oh c'mon Ranma, you'd have to be living under a rock to not know you don't want to marry me!" He snatched his arm back as if she had burned it with her words. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rolling her eyes she leaned back as she scratched her stomach. "Everyone knows that Ranma. You've declared it so much that it's common knowledge! People are probably going to think that I did this on purpose just to trap you!" Again the anger left him as quickly as his breath. Suddenly for some reason he felt really bad about how he had treated her up to this point and resolved to himself that things were going to be different. They were going to talk this out and talk it out now.

"Is that why you said what you said or is it that you don't want to marry me also?"

Her eyes were wide as she took his face in. Was he really serious with that question? Obviously from the look on his face he was. She didn't know what to say to that except could he really be so dumb? "Of course that's why… why would I force someone to marry me that didn't want to?" She watched as he picked up a rock and skipped it with ease across the river.

"You sure, 'cause I could have sworn that you didn't want to marry me because I'm supposedly a perverted cross-dressing freak." His words went right through her like a knife and she fought against the tears that were forming in her eyes. That's what he thought of her? What about everything that they've been through, didn't that meant something? Before she knew it the tears were spilling down her cheeks once more and she cursed her hormones for letting her seem so weak in front of him.

His heart ached at the sight before him but he remained rigid, if he was going to do this, he couldn't break for anything. After a minute or two he finally looked at her. The tears were still running down her face, but she had a look of realization there too. Sighing, he gave in and wrapped his arm around her. "I don't really mean any of those things I say Akane, and I know you don't either. You can't take me seriously when it comes to stuff like that. I don't take you serious… well I try not to most of the time."

She sniffed and tried to remain rigid against him but failed miserably, the heat radiating off of him too inviting especially with the cool air whipping around her. She nodded but still remained unconvinced. "I know that you probably don't really believe me but… for some reason I have a curse. It's like; when I want to say something nice to you… it comes out as the complete opposite. I just… I don't know…" She could hear the honesty in his voice and also the straining there and she knew that if she didn't say something soon he was probably going to burst.

"Ranma… I understand. It's like I have the same malfunction you do. It's just; honestly it hurts sometimes, especially when you do it in front of _them_." He cringed a bit at the mention of the others. It was true, his curse of foot-in-mouth usually kicked in when the others were around. He hated treating her like that and wished there was something that he could do to make it up to her. "Akane… I'm sorry about how I've been with you, and I promise I'll make it up to you." She gave him a weary look but he only held up his pinky in response. "Akane Tendo, I promise that from here on out, I will protect you, support you, and not matter what be truthful to you no matter what you may ask."

A smile tugged on her lips as she hooked her pinky finger around his. "_Anything_ I ask you'll tell me the truth?" Reluctantly he nodded, not sure if he had made a good decision. She was blushing something horrible and his stomach churned slightly in both a good and bad way. "Ranma… back on Mt. Phoenix, did you um… did you really say that you uh, you love me?" His heart sped up and he swore it was going to beat its way right out of his chest. She would ask him that. Frowning slightly to himself he took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare himself. He did say he was going to be truthful with her, not matter what.

"Akane…" She was looking at him with wide eyes and in them he could see a hint of fear. "On Mt. Phoenix, I had thought that… that you were dead." She looked down suddenly not wanting to meet his gaze, but he continued on, suddenly feeling the need to get this off his chest. "You weren't breathing… and I swore had lost you, and that's when everything came down on me. When I thought you were gone… I realized how much you meant to me, and I realized how much… how much I love you. "Akane gasped lightly beside him and her shocked eyes met his serious ones. "Akane, no matter how much we may fight… and how much we may claim we hate each other… I want you to know that I do… l-love… you." There, he'd said it, and it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Akane was speechless. He had just confessed to her that he loved her and here she was not saying anything back! "Ranma, I love you too. When I heard you say it, I knew I had to make myself live… you were crying and in so much pain…" They both quieted as the memory replayed itself through both of their minds, but there was something else she had to know. "But… why deny it? Why did you deny it when I asked you the day of the wedding?" He grabbed her hand and played with the fingers for a bit. "I thought that maybe… maybe you didn't feel the same way, like how could you love a freak like me?"

She pulled her hand from his and placed it on his cheek. Forcing him to look at her she placed her other hand grabbed his ponytail, locking his head in place. "Ranma, I would love you if you had webbed feet for crying out loud. Your curse doesn't make me think less of you, I've come to accept that it's a part of you and you should too." With that she kissed him lightly and buried her head in his shoulder. "I want to marry you, even if you turned into a frog, but not right now. I want it to be because you love me, not because I happen to be carrying your child."

He smiled at her and understood finally, but then had a question of his own. "So… what now? We l-love each other but I take it you're not ready to get married." She looked out across the river and thought hard for a second. "Well… not right now. Let's wait, at least until we finish school. Deal?" She smiled at him, happy that everything was finally out in the open. He smiled back at her and stood, pulling her up with him. "It's a deal, but right now let's get you back to the house before you freeze, deal?" She laughed as he slipped his hand in hers and they started on their way back home.

"Hey Ranma? Is this gonna change anything between us?" He glanced sidelong at her then looked ahead again. "Well… I probably will be more protective of you that's for sure. But as far as other people knowing about it… well let's just keep quiet for now. I'm not too sure how the others will react or myself for that matter." She nodded to herself and glanced down at her small bump of a stomach. "Let's hurry back home, we got a lot of explaining to do to daddy. You'll back me up when I explain our plans to him right?" He smiled down at her. "I promised I would, didn't I?"

"Yeah… you did."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

KTKG says: And that's it… for now. I'm opening the polls… which fiancée should find out first or be confronted first? Review and let me know! Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

KTKG says: Okay… here you go the next chapter in the series… I hope you guys like it and I want you all to know that I really appreciate all the feedback, it really helps me you know? Anyways… ENJOY!

Chapter Ten!

It was a particularly hot and outrageously muggy day out. He could practically see the sidewalk baking and beginning to buckle under the sun's relentless rays. He was literally melting; his bright red shirt sticking to his body like it was a second skin. He cursed under his breath for the reason he was currently out in this horrible, horrendous heat.

Akane was out of strawberries and she want more… now.

Any other time he would have told her to go get her own, however, in her current condition if you will, the heat was too much for her changing body to handle so he was forced to step out and set out into the imitation Sahara desert for… strawberries. That and Mr. Tendou forced him to.

The last couple of weeks had been unsettling. When he and Akane had returned home it was as if the atmosphere around the eldest Tendou had the same temperature as the polar ice caps. After a long treacherous scolding from none other than Nodoka, Soun had managed to salvage what was left of his relationship with his 'baby girl' and, upon Akane's request, had a long conversation with him about their marriage plans.

Ranma cringed.

It took three hours of interrogation on Soun's part to make sure that he was serious about Akane and that he wasn't going to skip out on her with one of his other 'obligations' as he so kindly put it. Please, like he would ever think of doing something like that. Then, however the dreaded question that he still didn't have an answer to came up.

What was he going to do about them?

He sighed and looked at the swinging bag of fruit in his hands, momentarily tempted to pop some of them in his mouth but then remembering that she would bite his head clean off if he did so.

What was he going to do about the others? It was obvious that Shampoo was the biggest threat, so if he could help it that one would have to be last if possible. Ryouga was another one that was a bit unstable, but if he played his cards right, he could probably handle him. Ukyo on the other hand…

That was a whole different story.

The two of them went way back, they were just little kids when they met. She was in a way, his best friend, at times more like a sister now that he thought about it. He thought she was a boy at first for crying out loud, and that's an image that he just couldn't shake. But still, if he told her, it would break her heart, and a woman's tears was something that he hated to see, no matter who it was. On the other hand, it had to be done. If she was truly his friend, she would understand and accept it right?

He groaned as he wiped a huge drop of sweat from his brow.

Only time would tell for that one. Right now, he just wanted to get back home and sit beside the nice cool fan that Akane was probably hogging right now. If he could help it, he would avoid confrontation with anybody as long as possible, but the sight of Akane sitting there watching TV with a small fan in her hand, he realized that he couldn't put it off for long.

"Took you long enough."

He blinked himself out of his thoughts and stuck his tongue out at her. True they had admitted they loved each other but he still loved giving her a hard time, and it was the same with her too. "Oh be quiet, I almost melted out there and all you're worried about is your damn fruit."

She giggled in response and snatched her goodies out of his hands. Well, at least she had a craving for healthy things. "Oh, whatever. I know you're strong and you would have survived. You've been through worse right?" She popped one of the sweet morsels in her mouth and he found that his brain momentarily shut down, something that was happening as of late when she would do certain everyday things. She had a certain glow about her and like a moth to a flame he was attracted to it. Then again he had always been attracted to her; he was just too stupid to admit it.

"You know, it would be nice if you could share some of those with me…" She looked at him thoughtfully and then shrugged, pushing the bag of strawberries in his direction. "I guess I could, seeing as you did go out there in the heat and get some more for me. Plus you caught me in a good mood."

"Oh?"

Before he had left the house earlier, she was ready to murder someone over the damn food in front of him, what could have possibly changed her mood? "What's got you all happy?" She smiled at him and turned away for a second, only to come back around with something that automatically made his blood boil.

He found that he was staring straight at none other than that stupid black pig, P-chan.

Ryouga.

Suddenly a chill ran through his body and he gave his fiancée a weary gaze. Really? This was something that he really wanted to avoid, why couldn't he have shown up as a human? That would have made this so much easier. Looking at the squirming animal in her hands he felt the urge to plant his fist right in his eye, but miraculously he was able to push that feeling away. Smiling he plucked the pig from her hands and set it down on the other side of her. She gave him a confused look but he was too into his thoughts to notice her gaze.

Okay, so Ryouga was here. Surely he had already noticed something was different about Akane. Physically her face was much rounder, and her chest was… well they were getting pretty big. Of course he would have noticed that one considering that's usually the first place she smashes him to on her body. He gave a sidelong glare at the pig by Akane's leg and grabbed another strawberry. From the look he was getting back Ryouga knew something and wasn't happy about it.

Akane stood suddenly and stretched popping her back before she turned to look at a slightly paranoid Ranma. "What?" He shook his head, trying to make himself as calm as possible. "Nothing… nothing. Where are you going?" She glared at him a bit, turning slightly making the slight protruding of her stomach visible through the baby-doll tank she had on. "I'm just going to the kitchen to get some lemonade that I made earlier. I was going to get you some too, why is it a problem?"

He glanced using his peripherals to see that Ryouga's eyes were fixed on Akane's figure, and then glanced back at her, hurrying to give her and answer seeing as she was getting an annoyed look on her face. "Um… are you sure you don't want me to get it for you?" Surprisingly she smiled in response and bent down to his eye level which wasn't very far for her.

"Ranma you dolt, I'm not helpless, just pregnant. I think I can manage getting something to drink on my own thank you very much." With that she planted a kiss on his lips and turned to leave the room.

With wide eyes, Ranma turned just in time to see Ryouga giving him the meanest look a pig could muster and squealing loudly before he turned and ran out of the room also. That wasn't a good sign at all. Akane had just indirectly spilled the beans in front of Ryouga, and suddenly he was cursing himself for ever making that promise with Ryouga and keeping his curse a secret. If Akane had known…

"What happened to P-chan?"

Ranma instantly racked his brain for an answer that wouldn't result in the possibility of him missing some teeth. Sure she loved him, but her mood swings were something altogether different. 'He uh… went to use the bathroom?" She gave him a skeptical look as she placed the two glasses down in front of them. "I guess."

Ranma's heart was racing in his chest. Any second now….

Ranma could see the vibrations in his drink as Ryouga's heavy footsteps pounded on the sun deck towards where he and Akane sat. Akane, oblivious to what just happened looked up at Ranma with wide eyes. "What the hell…?"

"RANMA!!!"

As if on cue, Ryouga came rounding the corner, eyes burning with pure hatred. "What have you done to my Akane?" Before Ranma could retaliate he found himself punched in the face and looking into an enraged Ryouga's face. "What did you do to her Saotome? What Amazon potion did you use on her?" Ranma's eyes widened as he pushed Ryouga off of himself and away from Akane. "What are you talking about? I haven't done anything to her!"

Ryouga growled in response but stayed where he was. "She's pregnant too… what did you do, give her something and then take advantage of her? You're nothing but scum Ranma… SCUM!" Akane gasped beside him and he suddenly went motionless. What was he trying to say? That he drugged and raped her? Anger burned its way through his veins until he was seeing nothing but red.

Without warning Ranma launched himself at Ryouga, knocking him down flat on his back and returning the favor with a punch to his face. "You're one to talk Ryouga. If anyone has been taking advantage of Akane it's YOU, not me. I haven't done anything but love her they way I should have been doing in the first place." Ryouga struggled to his feet away from Ranma, shaking his head. "LIAR!"

Ranma continued on, the rage inside of him pushing the words out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Admit it Ryouga, you've done much worse things than I ever have. You made me keep secrets from her, playing on my sense of honor… and then when I kept my promise you started taking advantage of her…" Pushed over the edge, Ryouga launched himself at Ranma and before Akane knew it the two were moving so fast that everything looked like a complete blur.

She was confused. Where had Ryouga come from, and how on earth did he know that she was pregnant? What was Ranma talking about when he said he had taken advantage of her and made him keep secrets? Her head was spinning with the effort to put the puzzle pieces together.

Ranma had said that he didn't tell anyone and she hadn't either. She looked down at her stomach. She wasn't showing that much, and the top she had on didn't really make it all that noticeable, so how…

A loud splash made her look up from her midsection and she instantly drew in a breath.

There, in Ranma's hand, was her pet pig P-chan. Suddenly all the puzzle pieces finally fit into place and the whole picture came together. The name calling and hostility whenever P-chan was around, Ryouga and P-chan always showing up at the same time, that damn scarf, and then… P-chan was here earlier when… when she…

Suddenly her hand holding her glass went limp.

*CRASH*

Ranma's head whipped to the side to see Akane standing there, broken glass at her feet, her voice completely void of all color and emotion. Reality hit him hard. Oh no, no no no no. This was not how he wanted it to happen. He had been so wrapped up in his fight with Ryouga that he had totally forgotten that she was standing there, watching the whole thing. He turned back to the pig in his hands and noticed that he held the same expression as his fiancée.

"Akane…"

Tears escaped down her face before she turned around and made her way up to her room, the slamming of her door shaking the whole house.

Ryouga squirming in his hand brought his attention back to him and Ranma narrowed his eyes. Since he was stuck like this for the moment, he figure that he couldn't argue back and there was a few things he wanted to say to him.

"Listen up Ryouga. I love Akane, with all that I am. I didn't plan this, but I don't regret it either and neither does she. Now there are two options that you could go by. One is you can leave and never come back around, seeing how at this moment Akane would probably kill you, or two, be happy for us and stick around to help us out if needed. Believe it or not Ryouga, I still think of you as a friend, and I would be really happy if you considered option number two."

Ryouga stopped squirming instantly and lowered his head. Apparently Ranma had got through to him. Slowly he lowered him to the ground and released him. Instantly he ran off around the house and Ranma sighed. He knew Ryouga; he would make the right decision if he had enough time, hopefully.

Only time would tell for that one.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*Knock knock*

There was no answer and Ranma gave a sigh as he glared at the ugly yellow duck on the door. He knew she was in there, he could just go on in, but that was like risking his life. Sighing again, he decided that it was worth it and began to open the door; however the door opened on its own.

Akane stood there on the other side, staring blankly at him, her eyes red from crying. He started to say something, to open his mouth and apologize but Akane made a move that caught him off guard.

*SLAP*

His head whipped to the right from the force of her hand and he remained that way, not bothering to correct himself. He deserved that, he knew, and he had to honestly say that he deserved much more to those. Suddenly there was warmth wrapping itself around him and a familiar bump was pressed against his stomach. Akane buried her face in his chest as he brought his face back around. Her sentence was muffled but to him they were as clear as day.

"You and your stupid honor."

Taking that as some kind of good sign, he began to slowly move them back into her bedroom and to her bed where he made her sit down. She was crying again and he all he could do was wrap his arms around her.

"I'm sorry."

What? She was apologizing? "I should have known better, the signs were all there, not to mention all the hints you were dropping. I guess… I guess I had to see it for myself for everything to finally click." She gripped his shirt. "I should have listened to you… all those times…" He rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down; all this excitement today couldn't be good for her and the baby.

"No, I should really be the one apologizing. If it wasn't for me and my stupid sense of honor we wouldn't be in this mess now would we?" She smiled slightly and started to stretch out on her bed, motioning for him to follow her. It had become something of a ritual for them to lie together in her bed and talk until one or both of them fell asleep. "It's both of our faults I guess… but what about Ryouga now? Do you think that he'll tell the others?" She felt him shake his head and trusting him she snuggled down into his warmth.

Silence filled the room as the wind blew in through the cracked window, cooling the two of them down. Akane was almost asleep, suddenly exhausted from the day when Ranma's voice suddenly woke her back up.

"Do you think you could ever forgive him?"

Instantly her body stiffened and Ranma was afraid that he had sent her into shock. Akane however was lost in thought.

Could she forgive him? She felt utterly violated when she had found out the truth, and a sudden hatred for him had settled itself in her heart. But she knew despite what he had done, there were times when he had saved her also, but could they outweigh what he had done? She didn't know. Only time will tell on that one.

Ranma didn't need an answer to know what was going on in her mind. She most likely would, but even he knew that it wouldn't be for a really long time. "You know what; don't worry about it right now 'Kane, just worry about taking a nap." After a few second she settled back down against him, her breathing coming slow and easy. A couple of minutes later Ranma found himself drifting off to sleep when Akane's voice broke through to his conscience.

"Ranma?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, no matter what happens."

He couldn't help but smile.

"I love you too. Now, let's get to sleep, I'm suddenly really tired."

*~*~*~*~*~

KTKG says: OK so that's it for now, tell me what you think! I didn't like this one too much for some reason, but I think it turned out pretty well considering this is the fourth version. Oh well let me know!!


	11. Chapter 11

KTKG says: Okay… so I know that it's been a really long time since I've updated but I have to say I've been really busy with school and work… I'm glad to say however that I have officially made it onto the honor roll!!! Yay for me! Anyways I'm back with a new chapter and I hope that you guys enjoy it!

Chapter 11

"It's not working… forget it."

"Try again. You know, the twentieth time's a charm."

"It's not going to work. Let's just forget about it."

"Suck it in."

"Really? And exactly how am I supposed to do that genius?"

Ranma gave her a blank look and Akane couldn't do anything in return but sigh. They had been in her room for the past hour and a half trying to squeeze her into her school uniform now that summer break was going to be over in two days. Unfortunately for the two, the dress wasn't making its way past her chest.

"Well, I guess that means there's only one solution to it all… I'm not going back to school."

A frown spread across her features as well as Ranma's. He knew that wasn't the reason why she didn't want to go back to school, but right now he didn't want to push it; later on maybe, but definitely not right now, especially the way her mood swings had been, asking her now was like asking for a death wish.

"Look 'Kane, I'm sure there's something we can do. Kasumi's gotta have a trick up her sleeve to fix this."

She didn't say anything, just nodded, the frown still firmly set in place on her face. Ranma took this as his signal to head out and find the eldest Tendou sibling in the house. Maybe she would be able to talk some sense into his hard-headed fiancée.

Luck seemed to be on his side because as soon as he opened the door there she was making her way up the steps. "Oh! Ranma! How's it going in there?" He paused for a second, trying to find the words to describe the hellish experience he had just gone through (he swore he would NEVER go clothes shopping with Akane EVER!), but his face must have been easy to read like an open book. "Oh… that bad huh?"

He nodded in response as she headed to the hallway closet, grabbing what looked like a sewing kit and some measuring tape. Kasumi really was incredible. He didn't even mention any suggestions but she seemed to instantly know what he was thinking. He decided right then and there that Kasumi was the embodiment of awesomeness, hands down. Akane had that same talent, knowing what he was thinking without him having to say anything sometimes, and that's why he loved her so much.

"Well, let me see what I can do. Why don't you wander on downstairs or something while I handle Akane. I'm sure by now you two are ready to kill each other. That, or her mood swings are starting to kick in again."

He nodded and rushed down the stairs, eager to get to the dojo and clear his head. Akane wasn't the only one that was nervous about heading back to school after all.

The dojo was quiet, perfect for a morning workout. It was a bit humid, but he didn't mind, it was still early enough in the day that it wouldn't suffocate him or anything. With that last thought he steadied himself before launching himself into an easy kata and what he liked to think of as a different world.

Going back to school was in a sense almost like walking straight into hell. There was bound to be loads of drama ahead, especially with the rumors that were sure to be floating around thanks to the party. Akane kept throwing around the idea of dropping out of school, and it irritated him to no end. Akane was smart and they were in their senior year, he would be damned if she didn't finish school. That wasn't the real problem though. The problem was trying to keep the baby a secret while they could. They didn't really have anything planned out, and as far as the others finding out he still wasn't sure what to do about that seeing as Ryouga was a near disaster.

He stopped and wiped the accumulating sweat on his brow, now finished with his workout. Well, that didn't really solve anything now did it? He was still at square one with his problems and it was becoming painfully obvious that they weren't going to be solved anytime soon. Hell, he'd been trying to solve these problems for over two years now so he was sure that it wasn't going to happen in one day. One thing was for sure, he was going to protect her and their child, no matter what. He had a bad feeling, he just didn't know which one it was going to be to do the idiotic thing he was fearing the most.

"Ranma?"

He spun around only to see Akane standing in the doorway in none other than her newly tailored school uniform. She spun around once in a circle, striking a pose with a smile on her face. Obviously she was in a much better mood.

"So… what do you think?"

Honestly he was at a loss for words. Kasumi had done a wonderful job on the alterations. If it weren't for the fact that he knew himself she was pregnant, he would have just assumed that she had put on a little weight in the face over the summer. As his eyes travelled over her figure something caught his attention and she seemed to notice seeing as she placed her hands on her hips, a sign he knew to interpret as he was in trouble.

"It's the boobs, isn't it?"

Ranma sputtered a bit at her defectiveness and refused to meet her gaze, studying his feet instead hoping to avoid the beating that he was sure that was coming his way.

"I know… they're huge. Kasumi suggested that I bound them if I really bothered me so much but if I do they'll bother me even more."

He looked at her then, trying to forget what lay a little bit below her face. She still had the smile on her face but he could tell that she was upset about something. He guessed now was as good a time as any to try to get whatever it was that was bothering her out.

"You wanna talk about it?"

She blinked as her eyes met his, and her smile seemed to become genuine. He always knew how to get straight to the point without being rude to her.

"Sure."

She grabbed his hand and the two of them sat on the ledge, her legs dangling as she curled her fingers around his and leaned into him a bit. She focused her gaze on the koi pond in front of her, listening to his heart trying to calm itself down from the recent workout.

"So… what's bothering you? I can tell this isn't one of your mood swings."

His voice vibrated against her cheek and she sighed, swinging her legs back and forth a bit before she answered him. "Well… I'm worried about going back to school." Well, he figured that much, but there was something else that was bothering her. He decided to keep quiet, more than likely she'll continue on without having to be prodded for further answers.

"Actually… I'm worried about… Ukyo."

What? Ukyo?

"I, uh… I'm worried that she's going to… you know… maybe flip out or something when she finds out. I know there's a bigger chance that she won't, but… you never know. Look at Hibiki-san, he practically tried to kill you."

Ranma was lost in thought. Ukyo was what had her worried? Shampoo or Kodachi yes, he could understand, but Ukyo? He had a sudden flash back to their disastrous wedding and could understand why she would be worried. A wedding was nothing compared to a baby on the way. Ukyo showed her true colors that day, and that was something that was burned into his head permanently. If she acted that way for that occasion, he could just imagine how she would react to this one.

But now the question was what to do about her, about Ukyo? She was a good friend to him; regardless he guessed about what she had done, he still had some semblance of trust in her. But now that he thought about the points that Akane had brought up, he was beginning to become just as worried as her. Ukyo was indeed his friend, but it was obvious that she had changed within the past two years.

"Let me deal with that one. I trust Ukyo, but I don't really trust her with you."

He felt her nod her head and relaxed a little bit, trying to push the thoughts in his head out so he could enjoy the afternoon with his fiancée.

"You know, you look cute in your new uniform. "

She giggled as she sat up straight. "You're just saying that because it shows how big my boobs are!" His face instantly reddened and she laughed even harder. He told her he loved her, even got her pregnant for crying out loud, but he still blushed like a little boy whenever she or someone else mentioned her chest. Eventually she calmed herself down.

"Thank you though. Kasumi raised the waistline so it would hide my stomach. It'll work for maybe another month or so but after that…" He wrapped his arm around her, swinging his legs in time with hers.

"Well, we'll handle whatever may come our way… that is if your boobs and mood swings don't tip everyone else off first."

"Ranma!"

He did nothing but laughed in response as she hit him in his arm, his face red as a tomato.

"Come on 'Kane, let's get something to eat."

* * *

She watched as the batter bubbled on the grill in front of her, humming along with the radio as she sprinkled various toppings over the forming cakes.

Ukyo flipped the okinomiyaki and wiped her hands, a smile spreading across her face as she watched the many familiar faces of the students from Furikan High enjoying their meals. She was glad to be back in Nerima, seeing as she now considered this small, strange city to be her home. The plus side was the business was much better here than anywhere else, seeing as here she had some loyal customers.

The students were seemingly in an uproar about what they had been doing over summer break and what they were hoping to see once school started back up in two days. She tried not to eaves drop on any conversations, however when she heard Ranma's name dropped in the same sentence as Akane's, she couldn't help but listen.

"Were you at Sayuri's party? Did you hear about Ranma and Akane?"

Ukyo's interest was piqued now. She tried to busy herself with some dishes so it wasn't obvious that she was listening in.

"No, I wasn't there but I heard that they were all over each other! Also from what I heard they didn't come together but they sure left that way."

"Do you think it was the alcohol or do you think they finally confessed to each other?"

"Who knows, I just wanna see if they're still together. Makoto said she had seen them out the other day at the grocery store and they were _holding hands_!"

Ukyo stopped herself before she dropped the soapy plate in her hands. She had to calm down and remember the things that she was hearing were more than likely nothing but silly rumors created by silly little school girls. There's absolutely no WAY that what she was hearing was true, right? Before she had left, Ranma and Akane were ready to kill each other, which was normal to her. But then another thought popped into her head. She had been gone for two months.

A lot could change in two months.

She snapped out of her thoughts when the two girls she had been listening to announced suddenly that they were leaving and paid her.

What was she thinking, believing those silly rumors? Those two haven't changed a bit in over two years, how could two months possibly make a difference? None the less, she guessed she'd find out for herself on Monday when she headed back to school.

Hopefully she'll prove herself right and realize that it is indeed just rumors she's hearing.

Hopefully…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She was wide awake.

Why was she wide awake at 3 a.m.? Part of the answer was currently snoring loudly beside her in her ear, but she was too tired to tell him to get up and go back to his room. Suddenly he rolled over, throwing his arm around her and pulling her close to him. She tried to snuggle into him in an attempt to go back to sleep, but sleep wasn't within reach. Plus she had her hard headed fiancée making his existence known in her ear.

Poor Ranma.

She had fallen asleep earlier with him and vaguely remembered him leaving her like he normally does. However tonight was different. Around one in the morning she felt him crawling back in the bed behind her, not saying a word. She knew something was wrong with him, but she was too tired at the time to ask, instead opting to rub the hand that was rubbing her stomach. More than likely his dreams were coming back to him. She would of course ask him about that in the morning when he was awake and after he had had some food. For the time being she decided she was going to try to sort through her thoughts.

She was of course worried about tomorrow, or rather today. It was Monday morning, and that meant that she and Ranma were going to be headed back to school. She wasn't really worried so much about the rumors that had surely been circulating throughout the student population during the summer. She wasn't worried about the stares that she would more than likely be getting when they noticed she was wearing an altered uniform, or that her face had grown rounder and her chest had grown bigger (she did worry about Ranma's reaction to the latter). What she was worried about was a certain person's reaction to all of the above.

Ukyo was honestly the one thing that could possibly break her relationship with Ranma.

Well, maybe not but the possibility was still there. Ukyo was a dear friend to Ranma. She knew that Ranma didn't see Ukyo the way that Ukyo wanted him to see her, but the fact remained that she was another 'fiancee' of his, whether he wanted her or not. But that wasn't the real issue, she had Ranma's heart and that was final.

The thing that worried her was Ukyo's reaction when she found out, and Ranma's reaction in turn to that.

There was two ways that the situation could play out. One, Ukyo would explode and try to attack her, which would result in Ranma probably do something that would leave him upset and depressed. Then there was option two, which would be Ukyo confronting him about everything and his stupid foot-in-mouth syndrome would kick in and he would deny everything, including her and the baby.

She didn't want either one to happen, and even though she was sure that option two was just her overreacting, she was still scared to death that it was going to happen and that was what had her currently wide awake.

"Why aren't you asleep?"

Akane jumped slightly, placing a hand over her racing heart to calm it down. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't even noticed that he had stopped snoring. "How did you know that I was awake?" She felt him stretch behind her. "You weren't snoring." She stopped herself from elbowing him in the stomach, reasoning with herself that he was still somewhat asleep and he wasn't clearly thinking. Well, she guessed now was as good a time as any to ask why he decided to make another appearance in her bed.

"Why'd you come back in here?"

He shrugged, snuggling back down in the bed.

"Dunno… it's almost like I can't sleep comfortably without you anymore."

She felt her face redden. Okay, with that statement option two of her dreaded scenario seemed more and more less likely to happen. She felt him kiss the back of her head. "Get some sleep 'Kane, everything is going to be okay in the morning. I promise I won't leave your side for a second, and I promise I won't go back on my word." Suddenly she was feeling sleepy, her eyes closing on their own will now as his snoring started up again.

Maybe she was just overreacting to everything.

Tomorrow would be ok, just like he said. He would stand by her no matter what; he's done it this far, why should tomorrow be any different. He loves her and she loves him, nothing could ever change that…

Right?

* * *

KTKG says: Okay… sorry that was kinda short but I wanted to get it out there. I had this vision, and I had to get it down on paper… I have a clear view now where I'm trying to go with this. Also… I need names, baby names that is. I'm open to any suggestions you might have! Thanks for reading!!!


	12. Chapter 12

**KTKG** **says**: Ok so I'm sorry this is really late but I haven't forgotten about you loyal readers out there…. It's just that work has been reeeeaaaaalllllyyyyy crazy for me (like 16 hour days crazy). Anyways, I'm here with another chapter for ya! I hope you guys enjoy it!

Chapter 12

Late.

Their first day back to school in months and they were going to be late.

Awesome.

Not that it was actually their fault personally for once. Soun had gone to wake Akane up and had incidentally found the younger Saotome in bed with his baby girl. Needless to say he went ballistic and after much running and screaming the two was now on their way to Furikan High. He couldn't for the life of him understand why the head of the Tendou household would freak out like that given the fact that he had already _impregnated _Akane. What other damage could he possibly do by just sleeping in her bed with her? He guessed finally that it was because they weren't married yet. Stupid, did they really need a ring and a certificate to know they were going to be together forever?

A slight squeeze of his hand brought him from his thoughts.

"Slow down! You're going to make me burp!"

That stopped him dead in his tracks. Burp? He looked to his side to see her covering her mouth. Looks like he hadn't slow down in time. She smiled, embarrassed, and yanked his arm for them to continue one. They were already late, so they really weren't in a rush to get anywhere. Not to mention that fact that Akane had as of recently lost the ability to run.

"So… are you ready?"

He gave her a side-long glance to find that she wasn't looking at him but rather keeping her eyes focused on the approaching building he considered his personal hell. "I guess."

Was he really ready? Today was really going to be a trying and difficult day. There were going to be tons of nosey people asking tons of personal questions that he just didn't have the nerve to answer. Not to mention the horrible rumors he could just envision that were floating around. Oh, the rumors!

She sighed beside him as she squeezed his hand again, leaning her head this time on his shoulder.

He could tell that she was uncomfortable. What exactly it was that was making her uncomfortable still had him a bit baffled. It didn't matter though, they would be facing that problem more than likely together today. That he was sure he was somewhat ready for, well, maybe not THAT prepared for it but he would face it head-on together today.

Before they knew it they were through the front gates without incident for once and already heading into the building. Her grip on his hand tightened the closer they got to their classroom and he gave her a quick peck on the cheek as well as a reassuring grin before he slid the door aside.

All eyes immediately fell on them as they stood there like a pair of deer caught in headlights.

Ok, so maybe this was going to be harder than he thought.

"Welcome Ranma and Akane. You're late."

Akane gave Miss Hinako and 'duh' look as he continued to survey the room. It looks like they had just interrupted Kohana's introduction. They stood there, waiting to be banished to the hallway with buckets but Hinako surprised them both when she motioned for them to take a seat. He noticed the eye contact that she and Akane shared before they started moving to the back of the class and he figured Kasumi must have had a conversation with the administration. Great, it was nice that she was getting the special treatment but now he had to live with the fact that the entire faculty knew he knocked her up.

Great.

"Eyes up here! Go on Kohana, finish your introduction." Kohana looked nervous as she surveyed the room, then shrugged. "That was it. I'm done." Ranma blanched. For someone who sure liked to talk people's ears off at the house she sure was quiet. Why couldn't she always be like this? He sighed as he watched Akane try to get herself situated in the desk.

Oh yes, this was going to be a long day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lunch couldn't have come fast enough for her. Since her bouts of morning sickness have subsided, Akane found herself constantly hungry for something, anything really, and today was no different. She also wanted to sit down AWAY from people. She was getting tired of students and their questions. Well, actually it was more of Sayuri and her group of friends that were constantly hounding her to get details about what happened after she and Ranma had left the party that night. Honestly, if she could remember the details, she would still not tell them anything.

"Hey scoot over."

She looked up to find Ranma standing over her with Kohana not far behind. Smiling she moved over, making room for them as she leaned against the trunk of the tree she was sitting under. Her eyes widened as she felt him practically mold himself to her left side and her head whipped in his direction just in time to see his arm coming down to wrap itself around her shoulders. "Ranma…" she whispered to him as she glanced around nervously at the people who were trying to be discreet in watching them but failing miserably. "What are y-?" She was cut short as he shoved a sandwich in front of her.

"It's been a long day already and I just want to be in my comfort zone." Her face reddened instantly at his words and it didn't help that Kohana was on her other side wiggling her eyebrows up and down suggestively as she opened up her lunch also. She suddenly felt the urge to smack that smirk off her friend's face but settled for throwing her wrapper at her.

"So… how was gym?" She turned and met his blue-gray eyes. Kami she hoped the baby got his eyes. She could get lost in them for days… "Oh man. Gym was hilarious! I've never seen Akane turn so red before in my life!" Ranma eyed Akane sympathetically as she took a bite, immediately knowing what she had gone through. "They got to you too huh?" She smiled at him, secretly pleased that she wasn't the only one. "Yeah but they backed off thanks to Kohana. I have to give it to her since her quick thinking and ability to change the subject was what saved the day."

The three of them laughed, Ranma and Akane finally managing to have a good day now that it was half-way over. He was pleased. The teasing and questioning he could deal with for the remainder of school, not to mention a certain okonomiyaki chef hasn't showed up yet, it seemed like their first day back was going to be successful. Overjoyed with this aspect he leaned over and placed a kiss to her temple, making her laugh and Kohana make cat calls.

Loud stomping could be heard and three pairs of eyes turned to see a livid looking girl making her way up to them rather quickly.

Looks like he spoke too soon.

Ukyo was utterly enraged. She had heard all the rumors whispered around about the two and this mysterious party that everyone had been talking about. That she guessed she could handle seeing as they were just rumors and she knew her Ran-chan better than that, he would never get drunk and… and… well yeah. But then she started hearing about the public displays of affections! At school even! She refused to believe it, and she didn't, that is until she went to go look for him during lunch….

"You have GOT to be KIDDING ME!"

Ranma and Akane were instantly at their feet, well not without some help on Kohana's part, as soon as she reached them. Ukyo instantly noticed that her uniform was different from everyone else's but couldn't really place what was out of place about it. She shook her head momentarily. That didn't matter right now, what did matter however were the answers she wanted out of the pig-tailed boy that was currrently staring dumbly at her.

"What the HELL is going on?!"

He didn't answer her; I mean, what kind of answer could he possibly give her? _'Oh nothing much Ucchan, just enjoying lunch with the girl I love and my unborn child…' _Yeah, that was not going to go over too well. He had thought that he was ready for this confrontation, but as she stood there before him with steam practically pouring from her ears he decided that maybe now wasn't the best time. "None of your damn business." Great, now also wasn't the time for one of Akane's mood swings to set in either.

Ukyo's head snapped in the short haired girl's direction and she eyed her with some curiosity. There definitely was something different about her. Akane was never this vocal unless it was with Ranma. Now that she looked at her there was something different about her face; it was much… fatter.

Silence still filled the air around them (and the group of gathering students behind them) as she stood there waiting for answers that she obviously wasn't going to get anytime soon.

"This isn't the time or place to talk about this Ukyo." The bell signaling that lunch was over and done with sounded and Ranma grabbed Akane's hand, giving it a soft tug as he tried to maneuver around Ukyo. Unfortunately for the both of them, she wasn't going to have any of that, and gave Akane's arm a sift yank to try to pull her and him back in place. Akane gave a soft cry in pain and shock and something inside Ranma just snapped.

Before Ukyo could even blink she found herself on the ground kneeling, her arm twisted backwards painfully behind her and to make matters worse an enraged Ranma hovering over her. Her eyes travelled up to only be met by smoldering blue-gray eyes that she swore were trying to burn a hole right through her.

"Don't you EVER try something like that again!"

Ukyo's eyes went wide in sheer horror. Ranma was threatening her, HER, over Akane. He released her wrist roughly, mumbling something to Akane and Kohana as they moved around her and continued on into the building. There were murmurs and whispers all around her but she ignored them, still stuck on what had happened to her. She fell to her knees, too shocked to notice the tears running down her face or Akane still watching her with a sympathetic look on hers.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The walk home was a quiet and contemplative one for the young couple. Neither dared to talk, both absorbed by thoughts of what had transpired a couple of hours earlier. Akane looked up from underneath her bangs. Ranma's face was unreadable and it had been like that ever since lunch. She thought that he was upset with her for her outburst but when he intertwined his fingers with hers she knew that it wasn't her that he was fuming about, it was…

"How are you feeling? Today wasn't too much for you was it?"

She snapped back to reality to find Ranma looking at her. When did he turn his head? "Oh, um…. I'm fine, not any more tired than I normally am. What about you? Are you…. Ok?" He turned his head forward again, his eyes focused down the street they were travelling on. "I'm fine, really. What about you?" She grunted in response, her mind drifting back to Ukyo's crumpled form on the ground, tears running down her face. She knew he was lying, he was obviously disturbed by what Ukyo's actions, but she wasn't going to say anything about it to him. He would talk when he was ready.

But then again, this was Ukyo they were talking about and whether or not she liked to admit it Ukyo was one of Ranma's close friends. He had to be hurting inside. After all Ukyo had broken down in tears and Ranma hated seeing a girl cry, no matter whom it was.

Sighing she turned her head to look just in time to see a large amount of water coming down on them. The red-headed girl whom was now holding her hand sputtered as she yelled curses towards the woman on the balcony who had carelessly emptied her now cold tea water on them. Akane quietly let go of Ranma's hand and started to brush herself off.

Ranma was utterly frustrated. First it was nosey school mates, then Ukyo, and now this. He looked at Akane, her face blank as she tried to brush her bangs back that were now stuck to her forehead, then looked down at his now feminine figure. Well isn't that just great? Now he couldn't even walk home hand in hand with his fiancée without some looking at them funny. He was about to give the woman another tongue thrashing when he felt a slightly damp hand wind itself around his. Slowly he turned his head in surprise only to find Akane smiling brightly before she planted a kiss right on his, er, _her_ lips.

"Come on, let's head home. I want to hurry up and change out of my clothes, don't you?" Ranma nodded in response, too shocked to form words. Her smile widened and the two continued on down the street as if nothing had even happened.

Kami he loved this woman.

* * *

"Come on Akane, I'm starving! Let's get something to eat! Pllllleeeeaaaasssseeeee??"

Akane laughed lightly as Kohana lagged a bit behind her. "Gosh Kohana, the way your appetite is you would think that you were the one pregnant!" Kohana only stuck her tongue out in response as she hurried to catch up.

After arriving home and changing clothes Ranma disappeared into the dojo, more than likely to blow off some steam from the day's events. Sympathetically she left him alone, looking for her own outlet considering the fact that she had a couple of more months to go before she could go back to practicing the arts. No later had she thought of something to do Kohana had called her to see if she wanted to accompany her to the mall for a little shopping.

It had been the trick to helping her get her mind off of things if only for a bit. Still, she couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for Ukyo, even after everything that she had done to her. Her thoughts started to wander to Ranma when Kohana's excited high-pitched squeal reached her ears. Apparently she had found somewhere that she wanted to eat.

"OH! OKONOMIYAKI!"

Akane stopped dead in her tracks and realized that she was indeed standing outside of where she thought she was. Hesitantly she turned her head to peer inside. It was empty save for Ukyo whom was at the register, probably getting ready for the dinner rush to start. She still looked upset, and at the look on her face Akane's heart lurched. She had to fix this.

"Hey, isn't that the girl who went psycho on you and Ranma at lunch today?" Akane gave Kohana an odd look before remembering that she had been gone for the past two years, she had no idea who was whom and how crazy everyone really was. Well, after she had a talk with the chef she guessed she could straighten everything out; letters could only say so much. "Yeah it's her. I'm gonna go in and talk to her." Kohana's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the statement. "Akane are you crazy?! She was ready to do some damage to you today! Not to mention you're _preggies_ remember?"

Akane cringed slightly at the nickname her friend had graced her condition with. "Yeah I know, but I have you here with me! You can back me up. Besides I don't think she will try anything too much, especially since you're here and we're in her place of business." Kohana gave her a wary look before sighing in defeat. There was nothing she could do to change her mind, so she might as well go along with it. Hopefully she was right about this girl, there was something about her that Kohana couldn't put her finger on, but if Akane had some weird sense of trust in her then she guessed she would too. It had after all been years since she practiced the art and she had to admit she was a bit rusty. "H-Hey Akane-chan wait up!"

Ukyo was minding her own business, really, when she heard someone come into her restaurant. She didn't even bother to look up as she mumbled "still closed" while trying to keep her concentration on the money so she wouldn't think about her breaking heart.

"I know. I was wondering if you had some time to talk."

Ukyo's head snapped up only to confirm that it was indeed Akane who had walked through the front door. Boy she was a bold one wasn't she? She had some nerve to show up here after her little outburst earlier. Some movement next to her alerted Ukyo that she wasn't alone. Ukyo tried to calm herself down a bit. Maybe Akane had something important to say, she should at least listen, right? Please, why should she? This was a rival of hers after all; a rival that she has come to the conclusion is playing dirty.

When Ukyo didn't say anything, Akane took that as her cue to sit herself down on one of the barstools, Kohana mimicking her movements behind her. Ukyo watched Akane as she took her jacket off, her eyes bugging slightly when she noticed that Akane had also gotten wider around her midsection. She couldn't help it she had to say something. "Geez Akane, been stuffing your face enough lately?" Akane winced but ignored the joke, thank Kami she had only thought she had gotten fat. "Uh yeah, um… anyways I wanted to talk about today…"

Ukyo froze at the comment. So she wanted to throw some more salt on her wounds eh? "What about it?" Akane winced at the venom in her voice; she had expected her to still be sore about it. "So how'd you do it Akane? Did Cologne give you something? That's not exactly playing fair you know."

Akane was going to keep her composure about this, she was sure they could handle this as adults. There was no way that she was going to mention that Ukyo NEVER played fair, even if it were the truth. She just wanted to come here and explain to her what she saw, that they didn't really want her to find out that way. "You would think that wouldn't you? No Ukyo, there's no trickery here, it's just… Ranma made up his mind." Ukyo's face dropped at her statement. He made up his mind? Please, if he had he would have chosen her. "Sorry Akane, I don't believe you."

"Would you believe me?"

Three heads snapped in the direction of the doorway to find an upset Ranma making their way towards them. Ukyo glared at him while Akane looked like she was a kid whom had got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Oh man, she was going to hear about this later. "Akane, could you head on home? Kasumi needs some help in the kitchen." Akane glanced at him, then Ukyo, before her eyes settled on Kohana's utterly confused face. "Um, yeah, right. Come on Kohana, let's do dinner at my place." Kohana nodded mutely as she followed Akane out of the restaurant, Akane stopping only to receive a kiss from Ranma and to whisper something in his ear. Consequently this little action lost Ukyo a plate that decided to break under her tight grasp.

Once Akane was gone, Ranma sat himself down where she had previously been sitting. Ranma hadn't expected to find Akane here. After today he would have thought that she would be trying to keep her distance from anything that had to do with Ukyo. But then again knowing her, she was probably trying to fix things on her own. He smirked inwardly, sometimes her determination to help everyone got on his nerves, but sometimes like now it was almost endearing. This was something that he had to do on his own however. They stared at each other before Ukyo broke the silence.

"So… is it true?"

Ranma swallowed nervously. He could do this; it was long overdue after all. He nodded his head slowly, peeking up just in time to see her fist flying towards his face. "AUGH! DAMMIT UCCHAN! What's wrong with you?!" He swerved just in time to avoid her other fist. "What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you!? How dare you so called make a decision when I'm out of town! How dare you pick Akane's fat ass over me!" He glared at her for a moment after her last comment.

"She's not FAT… she's pregnant."

Ukyo's brain completely shut down.

She was… pregnant?

Everything started falling into place then. The roundness of her face, the altered uniform, her outbursts… so that was because… "So, that means that the rumors are true then." He nodded slightly, not really sure what rumors he was actually confessing to. Ukyo meanwhile was lost in thought, slowly coming to a new conclusion much different from her previous one. "You chose her because you got her pregnant? Ranma, you idiot she trapped you!" Ranma's eyebrows furrowed together. "She didn't trap me in anything."

Ukyo snorted. "Ranma please, we all know how honor bound and whatnot you are. You're only with her because she's pregnant right?" Ranma didn't say anything which Ukyo took to be a silent agreement. "Wow, I would have never pegged Akane to be someone to do something like that… she's smarter than I thought."

Ranma felt anger bubbling inside him. Akane wasn't that kind of girl, she had given him plenty of opportunity to walk away but he didn't. He couldn't walk away from her not because she was pregnant with his child, but because he loved her. "Ukyo, Akane wouldn't stoop to something that low." Ukyo only smirked. "Oh really? If she didn't then how else could she get you to choose her?" Ranma took a deep breath before answering her. This was it.

"I chose her because I love her Ukyo."

Ukyo's face fell. "No… you can't." She didn't know why the words slipped from her lips. They made her sound weak and delusional. "But I do Ukyo. I think… I think I always have." Her shoulders slumped, a slight depression falling over her. "But, what about me?" She suddenly wanted to know where she stood with him. "I love you too Ukyo, but in a brother sister kind of way. You're like the sister I never had, and you're a really important person to me."

Her face fell in her hands and she fought hard to keep the tears stinging her eyes from falling. She knew this was coming, but it still hurt nonetheless. So he looked as their relationship as if they were siblings. She should have known, considering the fact that he never looked at her the same way he looked at Akane. Even so, she was his cute fiancée, he had said so himself. Regardless of all that it was obvious that she was going to be his choice, it had always been, still she couldn't help holding out hope that she still had a chance.

"Look Ucchan, I'm really sorry that it took all of this for me to finally come out and say how I have always felt. I'm also sorry if I had leaded you on." She didn't reply, but that didn't stop him. He wanted and needed to get this off his chest. "I know that I really don't have the right to ask this, but I want to know if you'll still be our friend, and be here for Akane, the baby, and I. Ryouga has already agreed, hopefully you will too." He frowned when she still refused to lift her head to look at him. This wasn't really going anywhere, maybe it was time for him to leave her to her thoughts.

Slowly he rose from his spot and headed towards the door, his eye and head throbbing slightly. "You know, she thinks of you as a friend and believe it or not you're just as important to her as you are to me." With that he was out the door and down the street, leaving her to her thoughts.

Akane thought of her as a friend? Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach as she thought about all the things she and the others had done to her in the past two years. This was all too much for her. Akane pregnant, Ranma saw her as just a friend or maybe a sister, and last but not least she had just realized that she had been an outright bitch. Akane had come earlier to more than likely explain, not rub things in her face, and she had decided to be a mega-bitch. She didn't know how to deal with it all, so she decided to deal with it the best way she knew how. Placing the 'closed' sign outside the entry way she closed the door and headed upstairs to her room, crashing on her futon that she neglected to put away this morning and did the only thing she could; cry.

She had never felt so guilty before in her life.

* * *

"Ow! Careful with that!"

"Oh shut up. Stop being such a baby."

Ranma only glared at Akane as she gently pressed the bag of ice to his eye again. "Wow she really did a number on you." He sighed. Giving him a black eye wasn't something that she thought Ukyo would do but as it looked she stood corrected. "You're not off the hook you know." She only rolled her eyes in response. She knew it. He was starting to go on a rant about how she was being irresponsible for going to Ukyo's like that and she needs to be more careful etcetera etcetera. Thankfully Kasumi had called to say Akane had company. "Here, hold this, I'll be right back. Kohana's probably back for her chocolates she forgot."

Her eyes widened as she noticed that her company wasn't Kohana but someone else entirely.

"Um… Hi Ukyo."

She fidgeted nervously as she met Akane's gaze, trying to give her a convincing smile. "Did you want to see Ranma? I could go get him for you if you give me a second." She turned to go back to the kitchen but was stopped when Ukyo finally decided to speak. "No, actually, I came to talk to you." Shocked she slowly turned back around. She wanted to talk to her?

"Look, Akane, I wanted to say I'm sorry." Her head was down as she decided to focus on her hands. "I did a lot of thinking and… I wanted to say I'm not only sorry about today, but for everything that I have done." Akane smiled, but deep down her heart still ached for the woman standing in front of her who was usually so confident. It was almost unnerving to see her like this. "Ukyo it's fine, really. I had come by to talk to you today because well… I was wondering if we could you know, start over as friends. I know you're probably really upset about things and I have to say I really don't blame you. You don't have to decide today or even tomorrow… I uh, just thought it would be nice."

Despite everything that she had been through today, Ukyo found herself smiling. She really wanted to be friends with her? Could she see herself being friends with her? As she thought about it, she decided she could.

"You know sugar, I'd love that."

Akane smiled. At least something good came out of today, even if her fiancée was sitting inside with a black eye. "Hey do you want to come in? There's still some dinner left over since Nabiki's busy at school." Ukyo's smile widened.

"Sure."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

KTKG: OOOOOOOK… hope you guys liked it…. You know what to do, REVIEW!


	13. Chapter 13

KTKG says: Alright… I know that it's been a REALLY long time since I've updated and I have to apologize for it. All I can say it that well… life happened. But fear not! I would have you know that I have finished this story and I hope you guys like the way it turns out. There are about six chapters left and I plan on updating at least once a month that is unless life happens again.

Anyways I want to thank all of you who continue to read it and add it to your favorite story list… you guys are AWESOME!

Now… on with the good stuff!

* * *

Chapter 13

He was fidgeting again, and this time it wasn't a normal fidget like twiddling his thumbs or bouncing his knee like he normally does. Oh no, this time he was doing much, much worse.

"I swear Ranma if you keep bouncing in your seat I'm going to knock you out cold until this baby comes!"

Wide blue-grey eyes stared into fiery chocolate ones with caution as he tried to settle himself down in his seat. A couple of seconds later Ranma found that his whole body was once again bouncing up and down literally.

Akane stared daggers at him to try to reinforce her earlier threat but she couldn't help the small smile that was slowly creeping up on her face. She guessed that she couldn't blame his excitement, after all, she was seven months today and finally she had allowed him to talk her into trying to figure out what the baby's sex was.

They had been arguing about it for about a month and a half now with either Ukyo or Ryouga having to break it up. Well, Ryouga wasn't really much help as he sided with Akane and now that she thought about it Ukyo wasn't much help either because all she did was gush about how cute the baby was going to be. Akane felt her smile widen at the thought of those two people.

While Akane wasn't completely fond of Ryouga coming around she had found it in herself (with much help from Ranma) to forgive Ryouga for what he did. She had warned them however that she wouldn't forget (to which Ranma likened her to an elephant and promptly got smacked) but she would try to, no promises though. Ryouga was really coming through though; trying his hardest to make up for what happened by basically being her slave. She didn't mind it though, and she knew Ranma didn't seeing as it gave him a break, but it would still be a while before everything can go back to how it was.

While Akane was lost in thought, Ranma was taking the time to actually sit still and really look at her.

It's been a month and a half since they had fixed things with Ukyo. Since then the two have been getting closer, but there was still some strain on Ukyo's side. He couldn't blame her, seeing him and Akane the way they were now would be hard to digest if he were in her shoes. Akane on the other hand seemed to be much happier. She was also getting much bigger.

His eyes shot to her hand that was resting on top of her stomach. Her stomach was indeed getting bigger and he was getting more and more excited. The only thing he couldn't handle sometimes was her mood swings. Sometimes she was the cutest thing in the world, gushing over a candy bar he had brought her or some clothes that Ukyo and Kasumi had bought for the baby. The next however, he could have sworn that an evil oni had possessed her. But then… then there were the times when she was just…

His cheeks instantly reddened at the thought of how intimate she could be and he hoped that she hadn't notice.

By the way she was licking her lips and staring at the chocolate bar in the child's hand next to her he could tell that her mind was far, far away.

"Miss Tendou?"

Both teens' heads snapped in the direction of the smiling nurse and like practiced choreography Ranma stood and helped Akane to her feet.

There was a collective affectionate sigh causing both teens to blush madly as they followed the nurse into the waiting room. "I'm sorry but they can't help it, you guys are so CUTE!" Akane couldn't help but giggle at Ranma's current imitation of a tomato. "Just take a seat and Dr. Wayama will be with you."

When the door finally closed Ranma turned to look at Akane with a huge smile, the excitement evident on his face.

"You ready to find out I'm right?"

She smirked back.

"Yeah we'll see."

* * *

Ukyo hummed happily to herself as she grazed the different fruit and vegetable stands in the outside market. Today was the day she normally went out to buy food for the restaurant as well as herself.

She always loved coming to the outdoor market. There were many different and exotic foods at her fingertips here and it always excited her when she could find something she hadn't been able to find before. She was currently thinking about redoing her entire menu. She loved Okonomiyaki but she was a chef and there were other things that she was able to cook too; she wanted to expand. She already knew she had two fans of the other foods she made. If she had decided to do it, Akane and Ranma would be her best customers.

She laughed to herself as she thought about the two of them.

The last month and a half had been an eye opener for her. She was finally able to see why everyone liked Akane so much now that she wasn't competing against her for Ranma's affection.

Her smile widened even more as she thought about her new found friend.

It was nice to have a girl to go shopping with. There was always Konatsu but it wasn't the same as being out with an actual girl. She had been able to finally giggle again and well… be a girl in general. It was nice, not to mention the antics between Akane and her friend Kohana were the highlight of her days now. "Huh… preggies… I can't believe that's what Akane lets Kohana call her."

Her giggling was cut short however when she caught a quick glimpse of a familiar looking head with really, and I mean REALLY thick glasses.

"Oh PLEASE don't let it be who I think it is."

She crept around an orange stand, trying to get a better glance of the black haired person whom was currently squeezing different tomatoes to test their firmness. She instantly stiffened as the person began to turn around but relaxed just as quickly when she saw that it was an older lady.

She held a hand to her chest to calm her beating heart as she chuckled to herself. "I must be paranoid. They're not back yet!" She bent to pick up her bag that she had set by her feet when she was trying to do her best impression of a ninja and turned to leave, bumping into someone and effectively dropping her grocery as well as theirs. "Oh I'm so sorry!"

Both she and the stranger had reached for an orange at the same time but she stopped the instant a familiar looking sleeve came into view.

Slowly her eyes travelled up the length of the sleeve only to rest themselves upon a sight that made her suck in a breath right then and there; A pair of super thick glasses framed by straight long black hair.

"Hello Ukyo."

With a slightly shaking hand she placed an orange back in her bag.

"W-What's up Mousse?"

* * *

"So… how's it been going working with Dr. Tofu?"

Ranma looked up from his shake at Akane whom currently had her head resting in her hands at just the right angle so she could effortlessly sip her strawberry shake out of her well placed straw.

"It's alright. I'm actually learning a lot. I've been going through some of his books when the traffic at the clinic is slow."

She responded with an 'hm' as she sucked down the remainder of her shake, sitting back and rubbing her stomach with a satisfied sigh. Boy those shakes always hit the spot. She smiled as she caught Ranma's astonished look. "What?"

"I can't believe you're done already!"

"Are you calling me a pig or something?"

Ranma just shook his head. Where that came from he didn't know. If he wanted to call her one he would have but seeing as she already said it herself…

"You said it, not me."

She stomped his foot under the table, making him jump slightly and yelp in pain. "If anyone is a pig it's your child. Did you forget that I have to feed him too?" She moved to get up and he followed, helping her to slide easily out of the booth. '_Geez, at the rate that she's growing maybe next time we ought to get a table instead of a booth.'_ She glared at him suddenly and he wondered if he had said that out loud on accident. He had been prone to doing that as of late.

What she had said finally registered in his head as they headed towards the exit. "Wait wait, you mean you have to feed _her_ right?"

Akane huffed as she pushed the door open. "No I mean _him_. You know it's a boy, I don't know why you just won't admit it. If his butt wasn't in the way you would have been able to see for yourself." He waited outside of the entrance with her until she adjusted her shirt. When she was done he held his hand out for her to take. As soon as her hand intertwined with his, he answered her retort.

"It's a girl."

She sneered.

"It's a boy!"

"Girl."

"Boy!"

"Girl."

"BOY!"

He laughed at her reddened face, her expression that of pure annoyance. "What's so funny?" He continued to chuckle as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "You. I love it when you get riled up. You're so…."

"Hot?"

He stared at her as they started on their way down the street. She was obviously having one of her mood swings; however these were the ones that he liked. Not to mention she was giving him one of her looks that told him he was in for a real treat when they got home.

"Come on, let's get you home. You need to get off of your feet."

The two teens were so wrapped up in each other and their earlier argument that they completely missed the tall brown haired man dressed in a blue gi with brownish-black hakama pants staring at them with total disbelief on his face. Slowly he turned to the much shorter man standing beside him.

"Sasuke."

"Yes master Kuno?"

"Get me Nabiki Tendou. I need to speak with her immediately."

Tatewaki Kuno had just seen his beloved Akane holding hands with his mortal enemy, the horrible sorcerer Ranma Saotome, and…. Kissing him. There had to be some kind of explanation for this and he was sure that the middle Tendou had it.

Something was not right and he was going to find out what it was.

* * *

KTKG: dun dun DUN! So there you have it, the new chapter! We have introduced both Mousse and Kuno so you know what that means…. More confrontation, drama, and hilarity to ensue! Please review and let me know what you think and please help me out with a problem I have… boy or girl?


	14. Chapter 14

KTKG Says: Ok… I'm back with the next new chapter… hopefully this will clear up some of the questions that some people had with the last one since there was a jump in the time frame.

Once again I would like to thank those of you who continue reading this story! You guys are the greatest and I really appreciate the feedback that you give.

Now… on with the good stuff!

CHAPTER 14

Akane sighed as she folded the cute little shirt in her hands for what seemed like and was probably the billionth time that day before putting it away in the white painted dresser drawer. She knew that this was something that was a side effect of the pregnancy seeing as she was pretty far along, cleaning everything she could get her hands on, but truth be told she actually had a lot on her mind. Well, that and the fact that she was bored to tears.

This was her first week of homeschooling. It wasn't really homeschooling in the traditional sense that a teacher would come to her home and teach her, but rather her dimwitted fiancée and friends would take notes for her and bring her the assignments home so she could complete them and send them back the next day. Kohana and Ukyo were life savers, but Ranma however… that was a completely different story. She loved the pigtailed boy no doubt, but even she had to admit that school wasn't really his strong point.

She sighed again as she looked around the room at the pastel green painted walls, a small smile finding its way to her lips. The room she was standing in used to be the guest room that Ranma and his father used to reside in, but with Ranma making his presence known more and more in her own room and Mrs. Saotome dragging Genma home, they had all decided to turn the room into a nursery. They had argued for hours about what color to paint the room seeing as Akane believed she was having a boy and Ranma thought it was a girl. Kasumi, always dependable Kasumi, had easily suggested a neutral color and the two managed to agree on green. Now here she was, cleaning and reorganizing everything in here _again_, something that was becoming a familiar sight.

Patting her stomach as she padded out of the room and down the stairs she vaguely wondered what everyone was up to at the moment. An image of Ranma face down on his desk sleeping popped into her head and she frowned slightly.

It wasn't really an abnormal thing to see him like that, I mean the boy has been sleeping in class for ages, but even she had to admit that he had been spreading himself thin these last couple of weeks what with picking up extra hours with Tofu and still trying to go to school. She had tried to tell him to quit, they had the major things that they needed for now, but he wasn't trying to hear her, insisting that there was something else that he needed to get.

Curiosity claimed her for a moment as she stopped on the stair way, glancing back to the room with wonder. What else could they possibly need right now? True when the baby got here they would be going through diapers and food like crazy but that didn't mean he had to work himself crazy right now! They had a crib, changing table, dresser, rocking chair… what else could they possibly need? Kasumi, Nabiki, Ukyo and Kohana had already seen to it that the baby didn't need any clothes or accessories, so what else is there?

Shrugging it off she shivered slightly as he feet touched the bare hardwood floor at the landing and made her way into the family/dinning area.

"Ugh! December needs to hurry up and get here!" She rested her head on her folded arms that lay upon the table, turning to look at the leaves falling slowly into the koi pond as a light breeze blew past, ruffling her bangs a bit. It was the first week of October, which meant she had exactly two more months to go before the baby was due. Time couldn't pass fast enough for her. She loved being pregnant and the attention that it brought her at times, but she loved hugging Ranma even more without her huge stomach in the way.

Yawning, she closed her eyes, enjoying the breeze and the mindless chatter that was coming from the television in the background. She would just rest until Nabiki got back from wherever it was she had ran off to in such a hurry and Kasumi got back from the store. She frowned slightly as she felt her conscious slipping from her.

Apparently everyone had forgotten what today was.

* * *

Nabiki frowned at the small man standing before her and decided that he looked absolutely ridiculous in his ninja get up. He was squirming slightly, trying his hardest not look at her as they waited for his 'master' and she realized she must have been glaring. Oh well, he was the one who had told her that it was urgent but here she was, waiting for the past fifteen minutes and she was NOT a happy camper.

"Look Sazuki-"

"Sasuke, lady Nabiki."

"Sasuke. Where the hell is Kuno? I've been standing here for almost twenty minutes now and I must say I have better things to do than wait around in this psychiatric ward."

Sasuke winced a bit as Nabiki took a shot at the sanity of the people he served, knowing full well that it was true, and looked around nervously again. He let a sigh of relief out as he noticed Tatewaki was making his way down the hallway.

"Ah! Master Kuno! Lady Nabiki is here to see you!"

"Ah… Nabiki Tendou…"

His arms were outstretched to embrace her but a well-placed punch to the face that her sister and Ranma would have been proud of stopped all that. "Kuno-baby… is there a reason why you called me here in the middle of the day to see you? Don't you have classes to attend?"

Kuno's face took on a serious look despite the huge fist print in the middle of it as he observed Nabiki. The two attended Tokyo University together so of course she would know that he was supposed to be in class right now. However, he had more pressing matters to attend to; after all, he had enough money that he could attend college for the rest of his life if he chose to.

"Ah Nabiki, always straight to the point. Well then I guess I better follow suit too eh?"

Nabiki just rolled her eyes in response as he motioned for the two of them to sit. "The reason why I called you here is because I saw your sister yesterday." Nabiki was confused, that was why he called her here? "You ran into Kasumi? What does that have to do with anything?" Kuno laughed suddenly, the sound bouncing off the walls of the spacious room. "Not her. Akane."

Nabiki froze as her younger sister's name echoed through the room like his laughter had earlier. Oblivious to her state of unease, Kuno decided to continue on.

"It was the strangest thing actually. I saw her with Saotome coming out of the ice cream parlor and they kept shouting things at each other, but they were holding hands, not to mention that they had kissed. I was wondering if you can shed some light on what kind of sorcery that Saotome has used on Akane and what it was that they were indeed arguing about."

Nabiki was at a loss for words as her heart seemed to utterly stop. Kuno had run into Ranma and Akane while they were out, no doubt coming back from her doctor's appointment last week, and apparently in full PDA mode. Surprisingly she managed to remain calm, even adding a smirk on her face. "What were they arguing about? No doubt something stupid like they normally do right?"

"They kept screaming boy and girl at each other."

The color promptly drained from her face. She wasn't prepared for something like this, although she knew that this was coming. Eventually he would have found her in school and asked what was going on when his sister had managed to come around. Speaking of which, where was she?

"Ahem."

Nabiki's attention was back on Kuno whom was now standing in front of her.

What was she supposed to do? Tell the truth? She mentally shrugged. She might as well do it seeing as it wasn't like Akane could hide it anymore. She was showing too much and in a matter of eight weeks the baby was supposed to be here. Oh well, here it goes.

"Well I can assure you that there is no sorcery taking place. It just seems as if they have finally gotten together."

Kuno's eyes widened as the words fell from her lips and Nabiki couldn't help but feel her smirk become genuine. Immediately little schemes started popping into her head but she shoved them out just as fast. She had to start thinking about her little sister's happiness now, not to mention her little niece or nephew.

"Surely you jest."

She just shook her head in response. She should have known that this was going to happen. "I'm not one to lie… anymore that is." He gave her a look that told her he didn't believe anything she had to say but her smirk only grew in response. "Oh and by the way, the boy and girl argument that they were having is about the baby that due soon." His curiosity was ignited at this point. "Baby? What baby?"

"Why, Akane's baby."

Enraged, Kuno was at a loss for words but the look that he gave her said everything he wanted to. "If you don't believe me Kuno-baby, why don't you come by the house for dinner tonight and see for yourself? I'm sure Kasumi has cooked enough for extra people."

With that, she walked out the door, surprising Sasuke whom was on the other side more than likely eavesdropping. She didn't like the idea of that. Sasuke instantly straightened himself, motioning for her to follow him. Before she did, she looked back at the still speechless Kuno and smiled. "Hoepfully I'll see you later tonight?"

She didn't even wait for a response before she was out the door, part of her wishing endlessly that he wouldn't accept her offer.

* * *

"Shhh…. There she is! Put them down in front of her and see what happens!"

"Please, are you crazy? If I do that then there won't be anything left for me!"

"Oh get over it and just do it!"

A few seconds later Akane's mouth started to water when a delicious aroma filled her nose. The hushed whispers stopped as her eyes fluttered open. What time was it? Glanced at the clock on the VCR under the television and noticed that it was much later in the day than she had thought. Instantly she sat up only to be met with the sight of a huge plate of fudge brownies in front of her.

Unconsciously her hand started to make its way to one of the plates when it was stopped by giggling behind her. Slowly she turned only to be met by Ukyo's smiling face as well as Kohana's. She opened her mouth to question what was going on but was cut off when both girls shoved presents in front of her all while screaming out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Instantly Akane's face brightened up as she rushed (well, tried to) the two girls with hugs. "Oh you guys remembered!" Kohana just laughed as Ukyo helped Akane back down into a seated position. "Of course we remembered! How could we forget something like that?" Kohana then promptly helped herself to a brownie, quickly shoving it into her mouth before Ukyo could smack it out of her hand.

"I take it Ukyo made the brownies since you're as bad as I am in the kitchen Kohana-chan." Kohana stuck her tongue out in response but decided to sneak another brownie seeing as Ukyo was distracted by laughing at Akane's statement.

Akane giggled as she looked around and noticed that someone was missing.

"Ranma said he needed to stop somewhere to pick something up on the way home so he'll be a little late."

Embarrassed at being so easily read, Akane took a bite out of a brownie and moved the presents aside, deciding that she would open them later. The three girls settled down as Kasumi brought in some drinks. "So, how was school today?"

Sighing heavily, Kohana reached down into her backpack and produced a huge stack of papers, making Akane almost lose her appetite, _almost._ "These are notes just to let you know. Ms. Hinako decided to give us a test on DNA structures in biology Monday. She'll be stopping after school to give you yours."

Akane winced. "Is she even licensed to do that?" Kohana shrugged. "Who knows, but you might want to go over all of that with Ranma again. The poor boy slept through the entire class and was even _snoring_." Akane smacked her forehead. If he was snoring then that meant he was completely exhausted. "Don't worry; I'll make sure that Ranma knows all there is to know about DNA by the time Monday rolls around."

"Akane, theres something that I need to talk to you about." Both girls turned to look at Ukyo, a serious expression on her face. Kohana blanched at the seriousness in her voice as Akane felt her stomach literally do flips. "Um, what is it Ukyo?"

Ukyo looked at her hands suddenly, trying to figure out how to tell Akane but also guilty for ruining the happy mood they had been in. "Well… the other day I had ran into someone…" She looked up to seeing Akane questioning her with her eyes as well as Kohana, whom was still sneaking brownies by the way. "Someone like…"

"Mousse."

Akane instantly choked on her milk and Ukyo was there patting her back. At the look of sheer horror on Akane's face Ukyo suddenly began to regret bringing it up. "What? Was he by himself?"

"Um… who is Mousse?"

Akane and Ukyo looked at the dark skinned girl who looked utterly confused but also worried. From the look that they were giving her she figured out right away that it was someone who was not a friend. "Geez Akane! How many enemies do you have?" Akane slowly took a sip of her milk after clearing her throat. "He's actually not my enemy… but rather Ranma's. The girl he's in love with is my enemy."

Kohana only shook her head in response as she stood to leave. "This is way over my head. I have to go anyways, but Akane, please promise me that you'll have a happy birthday?"

Akane nodded as Kohana hugged her goodbye all while pocketing herself another brownie.

As Kohana rounded the corner, Ranma appeared, a slight blush covering his cheeks as he tried to hide something behind his back. His blush disappeared as he caught a sense of the seriousness in the air. "What's up?"

"I saw Mousse the other day."

Instantly Ranma was in the room beside the two girls. "Was he by himself?" Ukyo nodded and both Ranma and Akane sighed a breath of relief. "That doesn't mean that they aren't back yet."

Ranma was silent for a moment, taking in Akane's warning. "We'll just have to be prepared for anything." He looked at Ukyo suddenly. "Do you think we can trust him?" She thought for a moment, trying to think back to all the run in and incidents that they've had with him. By the looks of it Ranma and Akane were trying to do the same.

"I think that we can. Anything that will give him an opportunity to get closer to Shampoo he'll jump at and this is definitely something that will get him closer to her." Ukyo nodded in agreement. Akane did have a point. Mousse was never one to really fight Ranma unless it had to do with him wanting Shampoo, so Akane wasn't in any immediate danger.

"Maybe we should talk to him and see what he thinks about the whole situation. We might even be able to figure out a way to get Ranma out of whatever law he's in since he got you pregnant Akane." All three of them fell silent as Ukyo's words echoed through their heads.

"Ranma, Akane? Dinner is going to be ready soon."

Kasumi stepped in the room, surprised to see Ukyo sitting there. "Oh Ukyo! Are you going to stay for Akane's birthday dinner as well?" Ukyo smiled, standing up and gathering her things. "Unfortunately no, Kasumi-san. I have to go open up the restaurant anyways for dinner." Ukyo then turned to Akane and gave her a hug. "Happy birthday Akane. Take Kohana's advice and please try to have a happy day. Sorry for laying the bad news on you like that."

Akane smiled and squeezed Ukyo once more. "Don't worry about it Ucchan, you're just worried, and I'd rather you tell me now instead of later you know?" Ukyo smiled then waved a goodbye to Ranma and Kasumi respectively as she made her way out the door.

Kasumi returned to the kitchen, leaving Ranma and Akane by themselves. Ranma smirked as he looked to his side to see Akane munching away happily on a brownie. "You know, you're going to ruin your appetite if you eat anymore of those." She glared at him as he reached for him once himself. "Too bad Kohana was the one who put a dent in these."

She stood up suddenly, making her way to the stairs. "Where are you going?" She turned and looked at him over her shoulder. "I'm going to go change clothes for dinner… I accidently fell asleep earlier and I need to freshen up."

Ranma's face reddened and Akane suddenly wondered if he was feeling okay. "Oh well, when you get done can you meet me in the dojo? I want to give you your present before dinner."

Akane blushed. "Sure just give me a couple of seconds."

Ranma meanwhile went ahead and made his way to the dojo in preparation. With every step that he took he could hear his heart beating louder and louder and his hands were slippery with sweat.

"This is it Ranma. Don't mess this one up."

He toyed with the velvet box in his hand as he waited for Akane to come down the stairs. Hopefully this will be a birthday that she will never forget.

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KTKG: Ok… and there you have it! I decided to break this chapter up, seeing as it's more suspenseful this way! Oh and if you're wondering… I'm not really sure when Akane's real birthday is but for the story's sake we'll just say it's October fourth… hope you all enjoyed it!

REVIEW!


	15. Chapter 15

**Kayla the Kawaii gurl says**: Hey people! Sorry it's been so long, but my laptop decided it couldn't hold on any longer and well… let's just have a moment of silence for it.

Ahem… now that that's done I'm back with an all new computer so you know what that means… more updates! I just want to take a quick moment to thank all of you who have continued to add this story to their favorite stories list, although I like reviews, I feel very special that you like my story that much. However, reviews are more important to me since they let me know what you guys like and dislike about it.

Now… with that said: ON WITH THE GOOD STUFF!

* * *

**CHAPTER 15**

Akane sighed thoughtfully as she fished through her dresser drawer for something to wear. She huffed when she couldn't find anything in the drawer and moved on to her closet, a small smile playing on her lips as she had to take a couple of minutes to move Ranma's shirts out of the way. A couple of minutes later and she abandoned her search for something comfortable yet warm to wear, seeing as she could no longer fit into any of her fall clothes and had yet to go shopping for some new ones.

Sitting, or rather plopping herself down on her bed, her mind running a mile a minute.

She couldn't believe what she was just told by Ukyo! How could her luck be that bad? She frowned and moved towards a bag that Kohana had given her earlier for her birthday trying to distract herself to no avail.

She had been hoping and wishing that the amazons wouldn't show up until AFTER the baby was born, or even better, after her and Ranma were maybe married. Grasping the handles of the bag she sighed dreamily. She really wouldn't mind marrying Ranma. In fact, if it were up to her they would be married already… maybe. She knew that Ranma had a commitment issue that much was evident. If he didn't he would have already been able to pick a fiancée by know right?

Frowning again she picked the tissue out of the bag while continuing her train of thought. No, she wasn't going to push him into a commitment if he wasn't ready for one and that was final, no matter how much she wanted it herself. As with everything else, when he was ready, he would let her know. A smile began to creep up on her lips as she fished through the bag, her smile instantly widening when she managed to pull her present out.

This was exactly what she needed! Kohana always knew some way to help her out with something she needed, even if she didn't know that she needed it. Akane held the soft pink colored sweater in her hands at arm's length from her for a second, taking a moment to appreciate the gift. Kohana must have heard her complaining the other day to Kasumi about not having anything to wear for the fall and winter season.

After a quick glance at the clock she realized she had to hurry up since she had Ranma waiting downstairs for her.

Quickly she pulled the sweater on over her head and the white tank she had been wearing earlier while she searched her room. The material was impossibly soft, and thankfully not that heavy. She had to admit that there was a bright side to being pregnant during the fall and winter months, the extra weight doubled as extra insulation.

She giggled slightly to herself as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror next to her closet.

A warm smile made its way to her lips as she smoothed her hands over the large curve of her stomach. The material of the sweater stretched so that her stomach was even more eye catching than it had been before, and being seven months, there was absolutely no way that she would be able to hide the truth any longer.

Her mind wandered instantly back to what Ukyo had informed her of a couple of minutes ago and she felt lightning bolts of fear run through her. Unconsciously she wrapped her arms around herself tighter as a realization hit her.

She had felt this fear before, when she was apprehensive about how Ukyo would react, but honestly it was nothing like this. This was fear in its rawest form, and with good reason too as it was Shampoo that was the reason behind it. That woman was absolutely ruthless when it came to getting things that she wanted, things like… Ranma.

Shaking her head as well as the various scenarios playing in there that involved the purple-haired threat, she glanced at the clock again before making her way out of the room. There was no need in her winding herself up about those things right now. Today was her birthday and her fiancée was downstairs waiting for her. If anything were to happen anyways, he'd be there to protect them.

She smiled as she rubbed her stomach again before closing her bedroom door. Of course they'd be safe.

He had promised after all.

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Ranma was a mess.

Thank Kami Akane was taking her sweet time upstairs!

He was a complete basket case right now. For the life of him he couldn't get his nerves to cooperate with him and just calm down! He shook his head as he fingered Akane's gift in his pocket and began to pace the dojo, determination growing inside of him with every step that he took. He was really going to do it this time and he sure as hell was going to make sure that there weren't going to be any interruptions either.

Everything was going to be perfect for this. So far everyone seemed to be busy with their own adventures, and all that was left now was for Akane to come downstairs.

The thought made his heart jump up and lodge itself in his throat.

What was he nervous about? It was Akane, and she had said she loved him, so giving her this gift (if that's what you want to call it) shouldn't be that big of a deal right?

Right; that is if you decided to ignore the life changing meaning that goes with it then yeah, it's not that big of a deal.

He exhaled loudly as he situated himself on the ground Indian style and ran a rather shaky hand through his wild hair. What was he talking about; of course this was a big deal! He was doing more than just making his choice official he…

He was committing himself to someone for the rest of his life.

That wasn't what was bothering him per say, but rather trying to figure out what Akane's reaction to the whole thing would be. She had already said that she loved him, true, but she had said that she wanted to hold off getting married and what not until she was ready. So here he was, freaking out over the fact if she was ready to be engaged to him officially. He was ready, so that meant that she just had to be.

He rose himself up on one knee, trying to find a comfortable position to be in. Should he do it western style? He grimaced to himself as he suddenly was bombarded with images of himself kneeling like he currently was sprouting off poetic nonsense to Akane whom in his mind's eye did not look amused in the least.

Great. That was really the only idea he had.

His head flopped down to his awaiting fist and he sighed heavily. This was harder than he thought. Maybe he should just shove the damned thing into her hands and let her decide as he makes his escape to the roof.

"What are you doing?"

His head jerked up to see Akane standing a couple of feet in front of him, her perfectly sculpted brows creased in confusion and her cute pouty lips trying their hardest to fight the smile that was there. His mind completely shut down as he surveyed what she had on, not to mention exactly how big her midsection was. She was absolutely glowing.

"Ranma? Hello?"

She waved her hand in his face and instantly he was on his feet, shoving something into his pocket nervously. She could only guess that it was her birthday present.

"Sooo… what's that in your pocket? Is it my gift?"

The reddening of his face was her answer. Whatever it was she was sure she was going to like it. Ranma always had an eye for things when it came to her, be it a clothing item or something as simple as a Hello Kitty wallet, he knew what she liked and what would make her smile.

"Uh… YES! I mean… yes… yes it is your gift."

Oh god, had his voice just cracked? He seriously had to calm himself down. She gave him a curious look which could only mean that she had heard the unusual squeak in his sentence, which only managed to embarrass him further. He swallowed the lump in his throat that had once again appeared. He was going to get through this dammit!

"Akane… uh, well, let me first say h-happy birthday and well, uh… I h-hope you like this, I mean I don't really know about these kinds of things but um…"

Ranma's babbling had been effectively stopped by Akane who had slapped her had across his mouth. She gave him an apologetic smile as she held up her other hand with her index finger extended and pressed to her mouth in the universal sign to be quiet. "Shhh… just stop talking for a second."

Akane felt bad but she had to do it, if she hadn't of the poor boy might have had an anxiety attack right then and there! She smiled despite herself as she gathered his large hands in her small ones and took note that they were shaking slightly. So her earlier assumptions where correct, whatever Ranma was planning on giving her had him reduced from his usual confident self to a nervous wreck. She had to get him to calm down if she ever wanted to get her present!

"Ranma, take a deep breath and _relax_! Whatever it is you're trying to say it will come to you once you do that."

Ranma gave her an incredulous look but took her advice none the less. He braved a look into her chocolate orbs and found that he had to take another calming breath. He could do this, really he could. All he had to do was tell her everything he's been feeling for the past two years. That couldn't be hard could it? Well, it didn't really matter because whether he liked it or not his mouth was readying itself to open and spill everything anyways. Oh well, here goes nothing.

"Akane…"

Her eyes shot back into his blue-gray ones the moment his voice reached her ears. The look on her face, the anticipation and excitement there was all that he needed to continue on with his plans.

"Akane; for two years now I've been living with you in this house, learning things about you and myself. For two years now we've been fighting like crazy with each other, beside each other, and for each other. For two years now, I've went to sleep and woken up with the knowledge that you weren't that far from me and for two years that has been the most comforting thing that I've felt. For two years Akane I've loved you, and if the answer is yes, I plan to continue to love you for the rest of my life."

Akane's eyes were literally about to pop out of her head. 'If the answer is yes'? What did that mean? Was he asking her what she thought he was asking her?

A slight weight in her hand brought her out of her thoughts and she looked down to see a small velvet box in her hand that was still closed. For some reason her body froze, not wanting to believe that what was currently in her hand really was. But as she closed her fingers around it, it finally registered with her brain that this was indeed real.

Her head shot up instantly at the realization, her eyes instantly searching his. His eyes were always a window to his soul, not to mention his face in general now that she thought about it; it's what made him such a horrible poker player.

She found nothing but sincerity in his eyes and etched all over his face. She looked back down to the tiny box that was in her hand that was now open thanks to Ranma. "Akane… will you marry me?"

She couldn't help it; the tears just started rolling down her face instantly. This was what he said he still needed. This is what he had been working himself silly for, sleeping through class and coming home and snoring the night away in her ear for. She giggled, but at this point since she was pretty much sobbing it came out as a hiccup.

"Akane?"

"You baka… this is what you have been practically killing yourself over?"

Ranma was suddenly nervous again. She was crying, no, _SOBBING_, and she hadn't answered him yet. This couldn't be a good sign. Hopefully it was just her hormones all out of whack again. Maybe he should answer her since she was looking at him expectantly.

"Um, yeah? So… your answer is?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, her tears finally subsiding. "Hm. A lifetime of you snoring in my ear every night?" He made a face at that. He did NOT snore that bad… did he? He felt her movement in front of him and focused on her again. She had a huge smile plastered all over her face.

"Of course my answer is yes you idiot. I think I'll be able to put up with you for the rest of my life."

His face instantly brightened as he quickly slipped the ring on her finger and swept her up in a hug, kissing her breathless which only succeeded in bringing her tears back. "I love you so much Akane, you've made me the happiest man on earth!"

She giggled as she wiped some tears away, admiring the ring on her finger as it passed by her face. "Actually you've made me the happiest woman. This has got to be the best birthday present that I've ever got!"

He smiled and leaned down, intending to capture her lips again in another kiss but, as always they were interrupted.

"Ranma, Akane, dinners ready!"

Kasumi's sweet voice stopped them dead in their tracks. They settled for nuzzling their noses together before setting off in the direction of the family room.

To say that both of them were in a state of bliss would be an understatement. Akane was so happy that nothing could ruin the rest of her day.

Absolutely nothing.

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Scratch that last thought.

There was something of course that could absolutely ruin her day. Well, not really something but rather _someone_ that could do it with absolute ease. Who might that be you ask? Well, the person that she was currently locked in a heated staring contest with, which would be none other than Nabiki Tendou herself.

What did Nabiki Tendou do that ruined her day you ask?

The answer to that was currently locked in a staring contest with her fiancée and his name was Tatewakei Kuno of course.

Akane felt anger surge through her again as another plate was brought out by Kasumi, followed by the last one which was brought out by Nodoka. Her anger must have reached her child because the little one in her stomach couldn't stay still for anything right now.

Upon returning from the dojo, both Akane and Ranma were more than a bit surprised when they walked into the family room to find Kuno sitting there next to the middle Tendou, a look of pure shock on his regularly calm face. The look had made Akane very aware of the fact that she had indeed waddled into the room because of her huge stomach that his eyes were currently locked on, and she was, in fact, holding Ranma's hand for support (and because she was in such a good mood).

Once seated, Ranma had instantly glued himself to her side, and when the question had slipped from Akane's lips why Kuno was there she was rewarded with the answer that Nabiki had been the one to invite him.

So here they were, Akane and Nabiki locked in a private battle while trying to eat as was Kuno, who actually seemed like he was really having an internal battle with himself, which in all honesty he was.

He couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing! This had to be some kind of sorcery, it just had to be! There was no way that his beautiful and innocent Akane was… was… He couldn't even finish that sentence in his head and swallow the food in his mouth. It didn't really help that their father was rattling on and on about the… ugh. He couldn't take it anymore. He was going to get to the bottom of this someway somehow.

Akane was in a similar mind frame as Kuno. This had to be some kind of sick twisted joke on Nabiki's behalf. What was going on in that woman's head to bring the psychotic man sitting beside her over to the house? Especially when she knew that she couldn't really defend herself? And on her BIRTHDAY no less! What the hell kind of birthday present was this supposed to be?

Nabiki smirked, enraging the youngest Tendou further. Akane's left hand, which was holding Ranma's under the table in an attempt to keep him from leaping over the table at Kuno since he was surprisingly acting… civil.

Okay something was definitely up. Either Kuno was going through the stages of shock or… no it couldn't be that. Kuno was not mentally stable enough right now to actually grow up; he had to be going through the stages of shock. Right now as she studied his face decided that he must be going through his denial stage, shock seeming to have passed as he looked like he was having a conversation with himself.

"So Akane… how's my granddaughter doing today?"

The question posed by Soun had caught everyone off guard and everyone's attention at the same time. Ranma physically paled beside her and the baby shifted uncomfortably in her stomach. Her father was trying to make conversation and he had just picked the worst topic ever!

Avoiding the question Akane decided to stuff her mouth to stall in order to find an answer. She didn't want to make the dinner anymore awkward than it already was. Unfortunately for her, her baby decided to give her a swift kick right in the ribs at that moment.

Her left hand flew up to her mouth in order to keep her food from spraying everyone close to her, and if possible, at that very moment the tension in the air got even thicker. "Akane are you ok?" She swallowed the huge amount of rice in her mouth and downed some water quickly, patting her chest in an attempt to help it down her throat. "Yeah I'm ok, the baby just decided that he wanted to start practicing anything-goes a little earlier than planned."

Ranma couldn't help the smile on his face as his and went to rub her stomach. "That's my girl." Akane frowned instantly, "your boy you mean." Her left came down on top of his, making it very visible to everyone at the table as he moved them around in circular motions.

"Um, Akane dear?"

Both teens looked up to see that shocked expressions on everyone's faces, especially Kuno's. Nervously, she replied with a very shy and quite "yes?"

"Is that… is that an engagement ring on your finger?" Both teens looked at each other for support before Ranma turned back to everyone.

"Surprise?"

Instantly Kuno's face paled and a sickening thud was heard in the small room as his body hit the floor.

Oh yes, Akane decided, Kuno was definitely back to a severe state of shock. She sighed; this was going to be an interesting turn of events when he managed to wake up.

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**Kayla the Kawaii gurl says:** Okay, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think as always! Since I have a new computer the updates will be quicker I promise!

Ja!


	16. Chapter 16

**KTKG says:** Hey. I'm back… I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Not much to really say but I really appreciate all of you who stick with this story and review. Reviews are the most helpful thing to me so keep them coming! Anyways on with a new chapter!

**Chapter 16**

Ukyo took a deep breath before fixing a determined glare on the sign in front of her. She could do this, really she could. Any other time she had all the confidence in the world and wouldn't have thought twice about what she was attempting to do, so why was now any different from before?

She shifted her weight from her right to her left foot and ran a hand through her ponytail before adjusting the small belt that rested around her waist, securing her huge yellow sweater closer to her frame as she stole yet another glance at the sign. Another deep breath followed and she swallowed the nervousness that was making its way up her throat and charged right into hell.

Or as other people knew it, the Cat Café.

Looking around she noticed that the place wasn't that busy. There was only a woman in the corner with a huge bowl of ramen in front of her, a huge text book off to the side and she knew that she wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. In the corner opposite from the woman was an elderly couple, who seemed to be wrapped up in an interesting conversation that they were currently holding. She smiled as she observed them for a while, remembering the various patrons similar to them that she had seen come through her restaurant on more than one occasion. Older people really were the best customers.

Her smile faded a bit when she saw her main objective saunter over to their table, two steaming bowls balanced in one hand while the other poured the couple some more tea.

Mousse.

It was now or never. She had to see whether he would be a friend or enemy so to speak. She stood for a moment, trying to find a neutral way to approach him but her unconscious shifting caught his attention and she watched as his head turned in her direction and his eyebrows rose high above his coke bottle…er … glasses.

She stood stalk still as he approached her, clearly surprised that she had even set foot their place of business. It was a known fact that Shampoo and Ukyo were not only rivals for Ranma's affection, but also for customers in the restaurant business as well. Why she was there was beyond him, but he wasn't one to really dabble in their rivalry when he didn't need to, so it was best that he see what she wanted and send her on her way.

"Ukyo."

She nodded her head in acknowledgement and he didn't wait to see what she wanted before he continued talking. "Shampoo isn't back yet. Is there something that I could help you with?"

Ukyo was taken aback at the fact that he was trying to rush her. She looked around again and still, there were a total of three other people in the place. What was he rushing for? Looking around once more she shrugged to herself. Oh well, if he wanted to get straight to the point then that was fine with her.

"Look, I need to talk to you about Shampoo."

He looked shocked for a second but his eyes hardened a behind his glasses. "I refuse to get involved in your and Shampoo's pursuit of Saotome." He made a motion to turn around, signaling that the conversation was over, but her next sentence stopped him in his tracts. "This doesn't have anything to do with me pursuing Ranma; I've given up on him."

His wide eyes (which looked wider thanks to his prescription) turned to meet her determined gaze. "You what?" He wasn't sure if he had heard her correctly. "I said I gave up on Ranma." Okay, so he _had_ heard her right. The almost crushed look on her face told him that she was indeed telling him the truth, but what did she think talking to Shampoo was going to do? "Why did you give up on him?"

She took a deep breath, trying to think of how much information to actually reveal to him, and also trying to calm the sudden pain in her heart at finally admitting that she was no longer trying to win Ranma out loud. "Ranma… Ranma has made his choice and it's clear that he won't be changing his mind any time soon."

Mousse's thought's suddenly veered to Akane. So Ranma had chosen the Tendou girl huh? He should have known it was coming but still he couldn't help but feel a bit elated that he really had no interest in his fellow Amazon. His elation slowly shifted to confusion when he tried to figure out why she was telling him this. Then it hit him. "Shampoo's not going to stop just because he made a choice you know." It was true. Shampoo was one to never let anything stop her from something she had set her sights on before, and with the Amazon laws backing her, this instance was going to be no exception. A solemn look crossed her face as he said this and she nodded her head slowly. "I know, that's why I'm here. I need your help… in a sense."

Mousse was taken by surprise with that last statement. She needed his help? "Do you need my help or does Saotome need it?" She rolled her eyes. Why was he being so difficult? Does it matter who actually needs it? "I guess Ranma and Akane do." He picked up the tray that had been long forgotten on the table next to him. "Why would those two need my help? They're perfectly capable of defending themselves, are they not? Akane is proficient enough in martial arts that she shouldn't have any problems if Saotome trains her, so with that said my services aren't needed."

Again he turned to leave and again her words made him freeze on the spot with curiosity. "But that's the thing, Akane isn't capable… for the time being." He turned slightly. "And why not?"

Ukyo fidgeted a bit, trying to decide how to word this. "Well, Akane has this… condition… that she's dealing with right now and if Shampoo were to come back she wouldn't be able to defend herself." Mousse's eyebrow raised itself high into his bangs, and he turned around to fully face her. "And what condition would this be?" Ukyo sighed, utterly defeated when it came to not saying the one thing she wanted to say.

"She's pregnant."

The only response that she received was the sound of the tray hitting the floor and Mousse's utterly shocked expression.

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Akane was absolutely furious.

Scratch that, furious didn't even begin to describe what she was feeling at that moment as she stood across from the one person whose slow and painful death she was currently plotting in her head.

"I don't know why you're even mad at me. This is really all _your_ fault!"

"_MY_ fault? How the hell is this in any way _MY_ fault? I wasn't the one who invited him here in the first place knowing what could have happened the moment he saw THIS!" Akane made a sweeping motion around her protruding stomach and turned her rage filled eyes back on her older sister.

Nabiki only crossed her arms in response and shifted her weight onto her other foot, feigning nonchalance at the whole situation. She wasn't known as the ice queen for nothing. "Look, nothing happened, he just passed out."

"Yeah, out of pure luck!"

"Whatever, it's not my fault I was dragged into your stupid drama!"

At this last statement Akane was ready to rush her sister, her hands already fixed to ring her neck when Ranma's strong hands held her back. "What do you mean you got dragged in our drama?" Ranma obviously wasn't too pleased with Nabiki himself, but he resolved that the only way to deal with her was to keep a level head.

Nabiki's eyes shifted from her younger sister that was doing a great impression of a bull to her (now official) future brother-in-law. "I mean just what I said. I got dragged into all this mess because you and my dear sister couldn't contain your public displays of affection for each other and he," she causally jerked her head in the direction of the unconscious man on the floor, "saw everything and called me over to explain." Ranma and Akane looked at each other, trying to remember when and where this could have happened as Nabiki continued on. "It's not my fault that you guys couldn't handle your obligations before you decided to do what you did, and plus I'm not one to lie about anything. He didn't believe me when I told him so I simply suggested that he come and see for himself."

At that, Akane lost it and Ranma had to actually strain to hold her in place. Thank Kami Kasumi decided to step in.

"That's ENOUGH!"

Or maybe not.

Everyone in the room was suddenly completely silent at Kasumi uncharacteristic outburst, and secretly Kasumi herself was shocked, but she hid it well behind angry eyes that she settled first on Nabiki and then Akane.

"I have had it with you two. You are both in the wrong." She turned to Nabiki first. "You because you brought him here without giving Ranma or Akane a fair warning to be prepared and you," she turned her eyes onto her youngest sibling, "because Nabiki is right. You didn't settle your obligations before what happened did."

That last comment, even though it had been uttered by none other than Kasumi, managed to set Akane off completely.

"That's IT! You act as if I asked for any of this! Well, for your information I didn't ask for that dumb ass on the floor to solicit every male in the school to fight me for a date! I didn't ask for the man that I love to have three other females chase after him no matter how many times he told or showed them he wasn't interested, and I sure as hell didn't ask for this baby to be on its way here, but it is and I will love it regardless. If you think that it's so easy to settle these obligations that Ranma and I have then why don't you do it yourself?"

Akane's sneer was directed at the middle Tendou, whose eyes had widened during her little rant. Kasumi too sat with her mouth a bit ajar but closed it quickly with the sudden understanding of what her words had implicated. Akane, however, wasn't done just yet.

"If you really want to know the truth I have told Kuno on more than one occasion that I wasn't interested. Hell, Ranma even changed in front of him to show that he, or rather Ranko, wasn't interested either but it never clicked in his head! The man is psychotic! He keeps on coming back and I can't for the life of me figure out why!"

Nabiki suddenly had somewhat of an impish look on her face and if it were possible Akane's eyes narrowed even more into a deadlier glare. "You had something to do with that… didn't you?"

"Maybe I kind of told him you were playing hard to get, maybe I didn't."

Ranma suddenly found himself holding his fiancé back with all his might as his mother and Kasumi rounded on Nabiki to scold her for making the situation worse in the first place. Akane was on a rampage and it seemed as if nothing was going to stop her. Luckily, a loud scream from said crazy person on the floor did.

"SAOTOME!"

Kuno had managed to regain consciousness some time ago and was up for the last part of the conversation. He had sworn that he had the craziest dream, about Akane being impregnated by Saotome, but upon coming back to reality and seeing the scene before him he realized that he indeed had not been dreaming.

The minute he had realized that it was indeed reality staring him in the face in the form of Akane's enlarged stomach, rage filled him and his target was none other than the man responsible for her condition.

Without another thought, Kuno launched himself towards Ranma, whose hands happened to still be firmly planted around Akane's forearms, and unfortunately all three of them were knocked over by the force of his momentum.

Time seemed to instantly flow in slow motion as the floor came closer and closer to the trio. Ranma was instantly stricken with panic as he realized he hadn't been able to release Akane fast enough before Kuno had launched himself at him and she was now also falling with them. Thankfully as he and Kuno hit the floor, Kasumi and Nabiki had managed to pull themselves out of their surprised stupor and hauled Akane back up before any real damage could be done.

On the floor Ranma struggled a bit with Kuno, trying to get the older man under control and also avoid his bokken at the same time. Unfortunately for Ranma, Kuno was able to make a hard direct hit to his shoulder, making him grunt in pain that didn't go unnoticed by Akane. "Ranma!" Kasumi and Nodoka were holding her back, trying to force her down into a chair on the opposite side of the room and yelling at her to calm down. She refused to take her eyes off of the struggle on the floor, her heart racing as she readied herself to scream Ranma's name again.

The struggle lasted for a few minutes before Ranma managed to land a solid punch to Kuno's face, stunning the man enough for the elder Saotome and Tendou to jump in and restrain him. Once they had him properly hog-tied and removed from the room, Ranma made his way over to his frantic fiancé, holding his shoulder the entire time. He shot Nabiki a stunned look before squatting down in front of Akane, her hands shaky as she pulled unbuttoned and pulled back his collar to get a better look at his injury.

"Ranma!" The bruise was a deep red in color and if someone had seen it from a distance, one would have thought that he was actually bleeding. He grabbed her shaky hands, covering them in his own to still them, and looked her directly in her eyes. "Akane, honey, you need to calm down before you send yourself into labor." Ranma looked up at him mom who had taken the words right out of his mouth, and then back at Akane who was also looking at her. "You're right, I'll try Auntie." Nodoka smiled warmly at her a soft "it's mom now dear," escaping her as she gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and followed Kasumi out of the room.

Nabiki's mournful expression caught their attention as she too made her way out, leaving the two alone in the nursery.

Akane surveyed the room and noticed that there wasn't too much damage done. Some things were knocked over and a lamp was broken but that was pretty much it. "Well, I guess we should start cleaning up." Ranma gave her a stern look that prevented her from getting up to do just that. "You aren't going anywhere but to our bedroom to get some rest."

She gave a look that was just as stern as she received and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide the fact that they were still shaking. "I'll go to bed as soon as you let me treat your wound."

He chuckled in response as he rose to his feet, the scare momentarily forgotten until her shaky had rested in his, while he helped her to her feet. He led her out the door and to their room, pausing to give her a kiss and make sure she was alright before telling her he'd be right back as he rushed down the stairs to where he was sure their fathers were currently laying into Kuno.

Surprise wasn't the word for what he felt however when he got to the gates to see none other than Nabiki giving Kuno a shot to the face that would almost rival her baby sister. Almost.

Nabiki was completely enraged, and surprisingly tears marred her angry features as she readied herself to lay one on him again. Ranma hurried on the scene to stop her from possibly hurting herself on that thick skull of his but what he heard when he got there stunned him into shock.

"You make me SICK! How COULD YOU? You say you care about my sister but you didn't even think about her well-being when you just attacked Ranma did you? Just let her go! She's not interested in you anymore, you monster!" She fell to her knees in front of him, her tears suddenly starting to take over and all that could be heard from her was the words "monster" and "just like me".

Kasumi seemed to have come out of nowhere and helped her to her feet, ushering her back in as their father as well as his hauled Kuno out of the gates and more than likely down the road.

He was left standing there, tired and confused greatly by the day's events. All he wanted to do was crawl in the bed next to his warm fiancé and tune the real world out and live for a while in his dreams where strange and stupid things like what just occurred didn't happen. He sighed and turned wearily back into the house. If things were this bad with Kuno he didn't want to imagine what things would be like when they had to reveal things to Shampoo. He wasn't sure what would happen when that time came but there was one thing he was definitely sure of, he wouldn't be caught off guard like that again.

Next time, he would definitely be ready.

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**KTKG says: **Okay, so now we're getting into the drama part of the story. We are almost to the end and I am proud to say that I have picked the baby's gender and name, bonus points to whoever can figure out where I got the name from when it is eventually revealed! Once again, thank you to those who continue to read and review. Reviews really make my day so keep them coming and I'll be plugging away on the next chapter!


	17. Chapter 17

**KTKG Says:** Well hello there everyone! Long time no see eh? School has been rather hectic mixed in with work and planning possible vacations which are desperately needed right now by the way. Anyways fear not! I am back in action with a brand spankin' new chapter for all of you out there! Enjoy…

**Chapter 17**

_Everything around her was dark. She couldn't see anything, not even her hand that she was sure she was waving in front of her face at the moment. Blindly she felt around her and breathed a sigh of relief when her hand rested against what she assumed was a wall. Feeling blindly with her other hand she began to make her way forward, determined to find some source of light to relieve her of what seemed to be eternal darkness that she was imprisoned in._

_A rumbling sound was heard in the distance and she instinctively braced herself against the wall where her hand was firmly planted. Was she in an earthquake? Maybe she had awakened to some sort of natural disaster happening and all of their power had been knocked out in the house. Yeah, that had to be it. If it was then she had to hurry up and find Ranma. _

_The rumbling didn't cease, but only increased in its intensity, and for the first time she realized that the vibrations weren't coming from the ground but rather to her right where she was currently bracing herself against the wall. With this epiphany fresh in her mind she retched herself away from the smooth wood just in time before it was violently broken through. She stumbled backwards but managed to remain standing, shielding her face against the blinding light that had burst forth through the hole that had been created._

_Eventually her eyes adjusted as she noticed a silhouette of a person emerge as well, blocking some of the light and allowing her eyes to return to some semblance of normalcy. The instant her beheld the person in front of her, she felt as if her heart had stopped. There, standing in front of her was her greatest fear materialized. Purple hair adorned the head of the silhouetted figure which also possessed an hourglass frame. There indeed was no mistaking who this was. _

"_Violent girl give up airen!" _

_Upon hearing the demand she took the opportunity to survey her surroundings. She was in what seemed to be a long hallway, old and dusty from probably years of nonuse. Had she been running? Had she been hiding from her this entire time?_

_The purple haired woman advanced upon her and she decided to address her human instinct of fight or flight. Looking down at her distended belly she decided that the best thing that she could and should do at that moment was attempt a flight. _

_She unfortunately didn't get very far before the woman was upon her, dragging her down to the floor in one swift motion and securing what she guessed to be a cloth around her mouth. She then proceeded to tie her hands and feet together preventing easily any feeble attempt of escape she might try. She inhaled deeply, fully intending to let loose a scream of bloody murder when a nauseating order filled her lungs and burned her nostrils._

_Scared out of her mind she glanced up at the sadistically smiling woman above her, glancing briefly at her own terrified face that was reflected in her eyes. _

"_Violent girl only obstacle. Shampoo destroy obstacle now!"_

_Shampoo raised her hand high in the air, and before she could strike the deadly blow she intended to, she managed to ignore the sting her lungs and let loose a blood curdling scream._

Akane jerked herself upright in the bed and looked around the room wildly, searching for any sign of the purple headed intruder. When she managed to assess that there was no threat of danger upon her, and the sound of her fiancée's snores reached her ears she managed to calm down.

It was just a dream; a crazy, ridiculously real feeling dream. The snores beside her stopped abruptly and she turned her head to see Ranma looking at her with sleepy but worried eyes at her. "You okay?" She nodded a yes in response, not quite trusting her own voice until her heart managed to resume a normal rhythm.

"Are you sure? You're sweating and breathing rather hard." He sat up beside her now, running a hand through her sweat-soaked hair then trailing his hand down to message soothing circles into her back. "Yeah I'm fine." She winced slightly at the slight waver of fear that still resided in her voice and hoped he hadn't noticed. "I just had a bad dream."

He hummed in understanding and stifled a yawn as he continued his ministrations on her back. "Are you feeling a little better?" She managed to relax, indeed feeling a lot better and managing to get her heart back to normal. "Yeah, but I'll feel better if I had some water in me too. My mouth is so dry." He nodded and started to exit the bed but was stopped by a delicate hand upon his arm.

"You stay here and go back to sleep. I can get myself some water." He gave her a skeptical look followed by another "are you sure?" She nodded and he reluctantly lay back down, still tired from the day's excitement as Akane slipped her feet into a pair of his house shoes and padded her way out of the room. A small smile managed to ghost across her lips as the sound of the other occupant in the room snoring reached her ears before she closed the door.

The quite murmur of the television in the family room made its way to her ears as she reached the last steps on the stairway. Who could possibly be up at this hour? It was well past midnight and she knew that everyone had turned in early, the day's earlier events having taken a toll on them all. Curious she made a right at the landing instead of a left which would have led her to the kitchen.

There, sitting in the darkness partially illuminated by the eerie glow of the television was none other than her middle sibling. She looked as if she hadn't been to sleep yet, although Akane was sure she had turned in like the rest of them had hours ago. The floor creaked beneath her and she winced as her sister turned around to face her.

Even in the darkened room Akane could see how miserable Nabiki looked. Her eyes were rimmed red, from what she didn't know, and the lack of sleep was obvious from the bags that were beginning to form underneath them. She allowed her eyes to roam farther over her sister's frame and noticed that she was slumped over the table a bit, her normally straight and proud spine curved under some sort of pressure she was caring internally. Silence surrounded them until Akane could no longer take it and decided to break it.

"What are you still doing up?"

"I can't sleep."

Akane had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes at the obvious that her sister pointed out and padded quietly into the room. She slowly seated herself beside her sister and was quite surprised when she lent her some assistance in the task. Silence enveloped them and Akane found herself for the first time feeling awkward around her older sister. Sure they had their fair share of fights in the past, but something about this last one was different, probably because Akane felt betrayed. She was resolved to break the silence, unfortunately Nabiki beat her to it.

"I'm sorry."

Akane's head whipped to the left in surprise. Had she just heard her sister right? She was sorry? She shook her head, thinking to herself that this couldn't actually be her sister because Nabiki never apologized. Ever.

"Don't worry about, I was just overreacting earlier. It's water under the bridge."

This time Nabiki shook her head in response but still kept her eyes averted from Akane's piercing gaze. "No you weren't overreacting earlier, you were right." Akane's mouth twisted down into a frown. She didn't like the way Nabiki was acting. True she was hurt by everything that had happened, really hurt, but she knew that some of the things that Nabiki had said had some truth in them. "Nabiki…"

"No Akane, you were right. Kasumi and I had a long talk after she scolded me for punching Kuno in face a couple of times." Akane's eyes suddenly darted down to where Nabiki's hand's rested on the table and there, confirming her words, laid Nabiki's right hand which was wrapped in gauze. A small smile started to make its way to her lips but she kept it in check, not wanting to ruin the moment. She didn't know that her sister had it in her.

"I wasn't thinking clearly when I invited him over. To tell you the truth, I haven't been thinking clearly for the past three years really. I didn't know, no I didn't think of the possible danger that I could have put my niece or nephew in. On top of that, I had been so blind. You weren't enjoying any of the drama by far. Some of the drama, okay maybe a good majority of it, was my fault."

The wheels in Akane's head had been turning the entire time her sister had been speaking, trying to process everything that was being said, and she still wasn't sure that she comprehended exactly what she was trying to tell her. Okay, so she was sorry, but one question kept ringing in her head. "Why'd you do it then? Why did you keep telling Kuno that I liked him or invite all of those crazies to mine and Ranma's first attempt at getting married?"

A rueful smile finally made its way to Nabiki's face, effectively breaking the emotional mask she had held for the past couple of minutes as well as making Akane's frown deepen. Whatever she was getting ready to say, Akane was sure that she wasn't going to like it.

"I did it well… because I was jealous."

Akane felt as if her eyes were going to pop out of her head. She, Nabiki, was jealous of her? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Nabiki must have noticed the confused look on her face because she quickly continued on with what she was saying. "I was jealous. I had the biggest crush on Kuno when I first started at Furikan, but I could never talk to him because believe it or not I was really shy. Then one day, he came up to me to talk and I couldn't have been happier, however the conversation turned to you when you started to attend there."

Akane still didn't understand, and she voiced her confusion, which prompted her sister to explain further. "I was so infatuated with Kuno that I didn't care what we were talking about as long as he was talking to me. Not to mention the income was worth something once Ranma and his band of crazies showed up."

Akane's anger and hurt towards her sister dissipated at her words, however it didn't go away completely. She was still hurt, but she understood exactly where she was coming from now. "I'm really sorry little sister but that's why I did it. I kept everything going between Kuno and I because it was a way for me to talk to him every day, to hear his voice you know? It's really pathetic now that I think about it. As for the wedding thing, I just wanted them to see that you and Ranma had finally come to some kind of understanding about how you both feel for each other. I mean, the guy had said he loved you for pete's sake when he thought you were dead! Or at least that's what I had heard. I guess that's one thing just didn't go as planned."

She turned her head Akane's way with nothing but apologies reflecting in her eyes. "I'm really sorry about everything Akane. I really am." Akane smiled genuinely this time and placed her hand on top of Nabiki's damaged one. "It's okay Nabiki. I'm still hurt about some of it because of your lack of thinking, but I can understand why you did it. To be honest with you, that's why I had always argued with Ranma."

It was Nabiki's turn to look surprised, which made Akane giggle a bit despite the conversation they had been having. "It's true. I was so convinced that he was in love with Ukyo or Shampoo even Kodachi, and I was so in love with him, I didn't care if we were fighting or making fun of each other all day as long as he was paying me some kind of attention. Yeah it's pathetic, but you're not the only one that has felt that way."

She patted her hand to add emphasis to what she was saying but Nabiki's slight smile fell a bit. "I'm still sorry about what happened though. I didn't mean to endanger my niece or nephew with that. Kasumi's still furious at me for that one." Akane's smile stayed in its place on her face, maybe widening a bit. "Your nephew is fine. He's actually resting for once which is a pleasant surprise."

Nabiki let out a genuine laugh at this as well as Akane but they struggled to keep it quiet as not to wake up anyone in the house. When they finally settled down, Nabiki asked a question that caught her off guard. "Why are you so adamant about you having a boy?" Akane shrugged in response, trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing, but decided that she could trust her sister seeing as she had just trusted her with a close secret.

"I just have this feeling, but honestly, I don't think that I would be good at raising a girl." Nabiki's eyebrows rose into her bangs at the statement that had just left her sister's mouth. "Why not? Why do you think you can't raise a girl?" Akane leaned back on her hands, stretching her legs out in front of her under the table. "Have you looked at me lately Nabiki? I'm not the girliest woman out here. I've been a tomboy since day one and I think that Dad was secretly glad about it since he decided to teach me the art. Don't get me wrong though, I'll be happy with whatever I have as long as they're healthy. It's just, honestly, I think I'll be more comfortable with a boy."

Nabiki just shook her head a bit in response. Sometimes she wondered if Akane ever really did step back and look at herself. Just because she wasn't like Kasumi or even like herself didn't mean that she wasn't as 'girly' as them either. "I think you'll be just fine even if you have a girl. Personally I wouldn't mind if my niece was a tomboy like her mom, because there's nothing wrong with it. If she's anything like you at least Ranma won't have to worry about boys chasing after her!"

They shared another laugh, this one a bit louder than the other one, and decided that it was time that they try to get back to sleep. Nabiki helped Akane to her feet and the two made their way upstairs to their bedrooms. Akane stopped Nabiki just before she went into her room, giving her a bone crushing hug which surprised her elder sister to no end. "Thanks Nabiki, for everything. I love you and maybe after everything, someday Kuno will come around."

Nabiki smiled as she watched her sister release her then padded, or really wobbled, down to her own door and walked in. Ranma's snores could be heard when the door was open and Nabiki couldn't help but wonder how her sister managed to get a good night's sleep next to that. Shrugging her shoulders to herself, she entered her own room feeling lighter than ever, her spine back to its former straightness.

Maybe today wasn't such a bad day after all.

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Kohana was surprisingly bored for once at the Tendou household. It was Saturday morning and she was there while her brother trained under her best friend's fiancée. Sano had suddenly taken an interest in martial arts, and Kohana hoped for the life of her that it wasn't because he was being teased at school because of his heritage.

She stifled a yawn as she looked over to her friend, who sat leisurely flipping through the pages of the fashion magazine that she had been asked to bring for her, but who also looked as bored as her. "Hey Akane, let's go get some messages or something."

Akane looked up from the magazine with a slightly irritated look on her face. She was tired, having gotten little sleep the night before due to her dream and then the unexpected conversation with her sister, so her nerves weren't in the best condition right now. Regardless she tried to keep the irritation from her face and regarded her friend with an air of indifference.

"I would love to Kohana-chan but unfortunately I can't." Kohana gave her a sidelong glance, tearing her eyes off the television for a second to consider her friend's response. "Eh? Why not? I'll pay for you if that's what the problem is." Akane sighed. Kohana just didn't get it. "No, I mean I'm not allowed."

Kohana's eyebrows came down in confusion and almost anger. "Who says?" Akane had to laugh at her expression. "The doctor said so. There are pressure points on my body, even my ankles that can send me into labor and I personally don't want to go into labor two months early." Kohana made a face and clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. "Well that sucks. Wanna get something to eat instead?" At this Akane did laugh. Kohana was one to always have some kind of appetite; it's a miracle she's been able to stay as small as she is.

"By the way, how was the rest of your birthday last night?" Kohana turned her attention away fully when she noticed the irritation run across her friend's face at her question. What the hell happened now? "I really don't want to talk about it. All I'm going to say is Nabiki brought someone she really shouldn't have to the house." Kohana's eyebrows found their way to her hairline and she was about to make her elaborate when Nodoka, whom had come by to check on her dear future daughter-in-law, stepped into the room to announce Akane had a visitor.

Slowly Akane got to her feet as did Kohana and they made their way towards the front door where Akane stopped so abruptly that Kohana almost knocked her over. Taking a step to the side she noticed first Akane's bewildered and slightly shocked expression, and then turned to look at the visitor.

He looked innocent enough, what with his HUGE glasses and long hair. It was a boy wasn't it? By the looks of it though, he was just as stunned as Akane. Suddenly Kohana felt Akane's had wrap itself tightly around her wrist as she took in a deep breath and screamed Ranma's name for all that she was worth. Suddenly Kohana realized that maybe then man (woman?) standing there before them wasn't as innocent as first perceived.

True to form, Ranma came skidding around the corner as soon as Akane's screaming calmed down and stopped in a protective stance in front of Akane, Kohana's younger brother following suit. Kohana only rolled her eyes as she pulled Sano to her side. She did know some martial arts herself thanks in part to Akane's father, so the last thing she needed was her little brother protecting her.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to cause any upset. I really just wanted to come through to check for myself to see if what Ukyo had told me was indeed true."

Kohana looked to see Ranma and Akane looking at each other in confusion. "What do you mean?" The man stepped closer and the four of them instinctively took a step back. "Ukyo had come by last night and mentioned Akane's condition as we spoke about Shampoo. Since I see that she was speaking the truth I think we really need to talk."

Sensing the seriousness of the situation at hand, Kohana gathered her brother and their things deciding that it was time to move around. "Uh, well, Akane. I think it's time Sano and I got moving." She looked to her brother but he was busy making a face. "Sanosuke, let's go. Tell Ranma thank you." Reluctantly Sano said his thanks and good-byes and then the two of them left, Kohana giving a worried look to her friend as they left out of the outer walls of the dojo.

Once gone, Ranma led Mousse to the dojo, Akane flushed close to his side with a protective arm firmly secured around her waist. When they reached the dojo, they settled themselves on the veranda and instantly Akane asked the burning question on her mind. "Is Shampoo back?"

Mouse shook his head in reply. "No, she's not. She's due back sometime next month. Her and Cologne are trying to straighten some things out with our tribe and they've been there for a while dealing with the new leader." Akane visibly relaxed at this, as did Ranma. Ranma on the other hand, now knowing that their biggest threat was still occupied for the moment, wanted to get straight to the point.

"If Ukyo told you about Akane, then she must have also mentioned that we sort of need your help too then. I gotta know Mousse, what kind of situation are we dealing with here?"

Mousse looked thoughtful for a moment before he answered. "There is good and bad to your situation. The good thing is that believe it or not, Amazon law is on your side. With you having impregnated Akane, the two of you are as good as married in our law's eyes. The bad thing however, is that Shampoo isn't going to take this one laying down, and chances are that Cologne will assist her in any way she can. Since Shampoo will consider Akane an obstacle now if and when she learns about this, we can more than likely expect her to act as she did when she first arrived here."

Akane's dream instantly came back to her as the word 'obstacle' fell from Mousse's lips. The baby shifted, suddenly uncomfortable with the mood change of its mother, and unconsciously Akane's hands flew to her stomach. It didn't help to settle the baby down, seeing as it took another shot at her ribs, making her hiss slightly.

The sound didn't escape Ranma, and with his eyes still locked on Mousse's face he reached an arm out and rubbed Akane's stomach, effectively getting the child to settle down and Akane to relax. Mousse surveyed the scene in front of him and made an internal decision.

"Akane, if you don't mind me asking, how many months along are you?" She let out breath she had been holding and cleared her throat. Those rib shots hurt a lot more than she was willing to admit. "At the end of the month I'll be eight months along." Mousse was again silent as he took in the information, nodding his head at this thought or that, and then spoke up at last.

"The best and easiest thing for us to do is to keep you hidden until Shampoo is back or until rather you have the baby." Ranma nodded in agreement. "That's what I was thinking. It shouldn't be that hard to do though since Akane's being homeschooled right now. The only thing I guess we have to worry about is Shampoo popping up here."

Mousse suddenly rose from his seated position, catching Akane's attention as well as Ranma. "Then it's pretty much settled. Keep your eyes on out on this end and I'll let you know when Shampoo gets home."

Ranma walked Mousse out, his thoughts all over the place. Once they reached the main gate, Ranma stopped and held his hand out, surprising Mousse for a second. "Thanks man, I really appreciate you helping us like this." Mousse didn't take his hand in his, but bowed instead. "Don't worry too much about it Ranma. In all reality, I guess I am doing this for Akane's sake more so than yours, but you're welcome none the less."

With that, Mousse was gone, leaving a slightly confused Ranma in his wake and a million and one thoughts floating through his head.

Now that he thought about it, he really was doing this more for Akane than Ranma. While he really had nothing against Ranma personally except for the times when he had thought he had an interest in Shampoo, Akane was the one that had shown him kindness even after the things that he had done to her. She was a bit frightened this afternoon, but that was understandable with their justified fears. He too was Amazon after all, so that was to be expected.

Before he had realized it he had reached the Cat Café and instantly noticed that there was smoke coming out of the kitchen's back window. He quickened his pace, trying to remember if he had left a stove or something on when he had left earlier, seeing as there was no way someone would be in there cooking right now. He was frozen to the spot however when he rounded the corner to the kitchen once inside.

Imagine his surprise when he was met with the sight of a purple-haired woman standing in the kitchen over a boiling pot of noodles.

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**KTKG says: **AAaaaand that's it for now! Enjoy, and as always REVIEW!


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

(*note:** BOLD **means that characters are speaking in Chinese)

Kodachi was slightly miffed at the sight that welcomed her on her return home from her first day back at school. After volunteering to stay back with their father overseas as her older sibling returned home, she herself was surprised at the sight that she had seen.

There, in front of the house by the garbage was her brother's entire collection of Akane Tendou.

Curiosity got the better of her and she ventured to a part of the house that she normally wouldn't have; her brother's room to be exact. She had attempted conversation with him but wasn't surprised when her attempts were not reciprocated. After all, the two of them never really talked about anything in the first place. What had caught her attention though was her brother's appearance.

He was dressed in regular sweat pants and a t-shirt, something she hadn't seen him in since she was a child, and his demeanor gave off the impression of, well, depression. Something was bothering him and it had to do with the Tendou girl. When her brother offered her no answer as she attempted conversation with him again, she decided that it was time for her secret weapon; Sasuke.

She had found him in the kitchen eating, presumably on his break. She smiled as he noticed her. Ah, the ever faithful Sasuke. She could always rely on him to get her the information that she needed, or wanted for that matter, so this situation should be no different. Unnoticed by her, Sasuke had paled considerable since she had entered the room and was currently shying away as she approached him.

"Ah, dear Sasuke, I have a favor to ask of you." He swallowed his bite of sandwich solemnly and put the rest of it back down. This did not bode well. As a matter fact, whenever she asked something of him it always ended horribly; specifically with someone paralyzed from some kind of powder that she had concocted. "Y-Yes, my lady?"

"Dear Sasuke, surely you have seen how my dear brother has been acting lately? Do you know why this is?"

Sasuke froze the second the question had left her lips. Of course he knew, but he was currently under direct orders from the young master of the house to not mention it to anyone, ESPECIALLY the young woman standing in front of him whom was currently staring at him waiting for a response. Damn. "Oh um, I'm not sure what you mean?"

Kodachi huffed and shifted her weight from her right foot to her left. "I mean, why are Akane Tendou's pictures that my brother prized so much out in the garbage?" Sasuke's eyes widened at the admission of the youngest Kuno. So, she was a perceptible one, wasn't she? "Ah, well, the master had decided to turn over a new leaf it seems. He is no longer interested in the Tendou girl." Kodachi eyed him critically during his answer and concluded one of her own. He was lying. "Sasuke, the truth, tell me the truth or I will have daddy cut your pay in half!"

He winced slightly at the threat, knowing that she would make good on it if she were provoked. Oh well, he can always find a job with one her rivals at their restaurants, they would probably appreciate it more anyways. Her eyes narrowed even more and he had a change of heart. "Miss please, I'm not really at liberty to say, but your brother seems to have given up on the Tendou girl seeing as she had finally made her choice."

Kodachi's eyebrows disappeared into her bangs. Akane had made her choice? What the hell does that mean? She voiced her question aloud and he cowered a bit. It didn't matter if he went against his master's wishes, she was bound to find out sooner or later anyways when she went to go see the Saotome boy later. "Well… it seems as though Akane and Ranma have chosen each other." Kodachi was in his face immediately following his reply. "WHAT? HOW?" Sasuke held back the smirk growing inside him and picked up his (almost) forgotten sandwich.

"That, madam, you will have to find out for yourself."

Kodachi turned to stomp off out of the kitchen at Sasuke's last statement. Find out for herself huh?

That could definitely be arranged.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Mousse stared aimlessly at the pot of boiling noodles in front of him. His mind was moving a mile a minute, trying to process everything that had happened to him in the last twenty-four hours, and trying to make sense of it all.

He had caught wind from the okonomiyaki chef that his rival for Shampoo's affection had decided to make his decision in the way of impregnating his supposedly true fiancée. Upon going to see if it were true or not he learned that they were not only expecting soon but they were also very much in love, and for some reason that he still cannot really fathom, he had decided to help them. He knew that he was fond of the Tendou girl in a friendly manner, the girl never really did anything to him except for the time with the jewel (she wasn't too fond of him sticking it on her like that), but rather tried to help him when it came to Shampoo. He knew that that played a major role in his decision to help her but he still thought the decision to help was crazy in itself. I mean, going against Cologne was just suicide.

Then, he came home to the surprise of his life; Shampoo and Cologne were home early. A whole **month** early to be exact.

Thus, he was in his current predicament; continue helping Saotome or go along with what the two other amazons had told him.

"Oi, Mousse! Don't overcook those noodles!"

Mousse snapped himself out of his thoughts and pulled the noodles from the water just in time, earning a displeased grunt from the old woman to the left of him. Sighing he began to boil a new batch, trying to distract himself from the all-knowing beady little eyes of his elder. "Boy, there's something wrong with you. Spill it."

Mousse winced; suddenly irritated that he had been read as easily as a book. Then again the woman had been alive longer than he really cared to know, so he just assumed that maybe a century or two ago she had learned to read people**. "Mu Tsu,"** he winced once again as he heard his name pronounced the correct way. **"I asked you a question, or have you gone deaf?"** Oh great, now she was addressing him in Chinese.

"**I heard you the first time. I was just thinking about something that's all."**

Cologne gave him a suspicious look but he dismissed it, feigning nonchalance as best as he could while his mind still tried to wrap itself around the information he had learned a couple of hours earlier. Currently he was trying to come up with a plan to get in contact with Saotome to let him know that his biggest worry was back earlier than they had expected.

Cologne on the other hand took his answer in stride. The young boy was mistaken if he thought he could hide his thoughts from her. She wasn't oblivious to the reception that they had received upon Mousse's return home, one that although he tried to cover it up instantly, she was sure his face had held utter shock for a complete second before he got a hold of himself. Why should he be shocked at their return? The boy was acting suspicious all around and the only conclusion that she could come up with was that something had happened while they were away.

"**So, why the sudden return? You two weren't due back for another month right?"**

Cologne narrowed her eyes as she again took in Mousse's posture and sighed internally. The boy was a horrible actor. So he was curious eh? **"The elders and I had come to a decision earlier than expected."** At this, Mousse stopped his absent play with the noodles in front of him and finally turned to face the old woman fully, his interest piqued now.

The elders of the village had made a decision? What kind of decision was that? She had said that Shampoo had to leave for some training or something hadn't she? He stopped himself when he noticed Cologne scrutinizing his face again, more than likely trying to read him. If he wasn't careful, the old bat just might guess what was actually going through his head. He put on his mask and again regarded her indifferently. **"And what decision would that be?"**

Cologne smirked, knowing that her next sentence will no doubt get a reaction out of him whether he wants to give one or not. **"Well, that would be to have Xian Pu to lead the village."**

Mousse froze on the spot. Had he just heard her correctly? Run the village? Shampoo?

He had felt that his mask had slipped but he quickly put in back into place. **"Really? Then why are you two back? Shouldn't Xian Pu be home starting her training and whatnot?"**

"**I'm here to get my husband."**

Both heads turned to the purple haired woman who had stepped into the room without neither one of them noticing. Cologne only smiled at the young woman as she set an empty plate down in the sink and made her way over the young man who was currently holding the next order. **"G-get your husband?"** Unconsciously Mousse's face began to light up in a smile. Had she changed her mind and came for him so they could-

"**Yes I came to get Ranma of course!"**

Instantly he felt his heart sink. Of course she would have come back for him, what had he been thinking? Suddenly he remembered everything that he had learned today and warily looked at the overly happy duo in front of him. Something was up; the elders wouldn't really send her back without some kind of agreement if Shampoo had indeed been picked to run the village next. **"And they let you… come back for him?"**

"**Oh well, grandmother had to convince them that Ranma would be a good addition to the tribe with his abilities, which is true." **He shot a curious look at the older woman whom had wandered back out to the front of the restaurant to help some customers which had come in, one of which was a darker-skinned girl that looked awfully familiar to him. **"As soon as I can get Ranma we'll be heading back home. I don't really have much time but then again it shouldn't take that long."**

She didn't really have that much time? Well, he supposed that that was correct considering that the elders were known to be impatient people. Another thought crossed his mind as she mentioned Saotome's name, and he couldn't help asking the question that popped in his head. **"What are you going to do if Saotome doesn't want to go with you?" **She stopped dead in her tracks for an instant before smiling to herself, a smile that Mousse noted wasn't really one of the pleasant kind.

"**Ranma will come with me no matter what; he'll have no choice in the matter."**

Mousse's eyes widened behind his glasses at her response. So he was right after all, whatever those two had up their sleeve to get Saotome couldn't be the safest thing in the world, and if he knew better, Ranma would have no choice in the matter because Shampoo would more than likely take out any other options that he had.

He watched as she exited the kitchen and attempted to help the familiar looking girl at the front. Suddenly it finally hit him where he knew her from; after all, he had only just seen her twenty-four hours earlier at the Tendou residence. The girl was none other than Akane's foreign-looking friend and he interrupted the conversation, feigning to help the poor girl who in all honesty couldn't understand Shampoo's broken Japanese too well.

"Uh yeah, I'm here to pick up my order for my friend and I." Shampoo moved to the side, a bit surprised and irritated that Mousse had butt in. She could take care of customers just fine; it was just this stupid girl who couldn't understand her perfect Japanese. "Ah yes, the name?"

The girl gave a slight glance at the man in front of her and the woman who had moved to start wiping tables not too far from them. "Uh, Kobashi Kohana and Ten.." "Ah yes, I have your order ready in the back. Just give me a second while I finish boxing it up for you."

Mousse scurried off to the back and finished boxing the order that had been completing earlier, his mind once again racing. This was his one and only chance to give them a heads up, that is if Shampoo hadn't noticed the name that the girl was getting ready to say. Quickly he scribbled something down on a piece of paper, stuffing it in with the boxes as he stacked them on top of one another, then exited the kitchen. Too bad for him he was completely unaware of the wise old eyes that had seen the whole thing.

"Ah, here you are Kobashi-san." He bowed upon coming back to the front where the girl stood warily eying Shampoo as if she had an understanding of who she was to her friend. Upon his greeting however her face brightened quickly and she bowed in response, waving and giving thanks as she left out the door.

Mousse watched as she left, relief flooding his features that didn't really go unnoticed by his female companion. **"Mu Tsu, what's with that look?"** He turned his head slightly to see the suspicion practically oozing off of Shampoo. **"Nothing, nothing, I just hope that I didn't overcook the noodles earlier. I was a bit distracted after all."** Shampoo said nothing in return, and he took that as his cue to head back in to the kitchen to prepare for the dinner rush.

Hopefully his message will get there in time.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kohana slurped her ramen happily and sighed with content. The run in with the weirdos was actually worth it seeing as this food was absolutely heaven. Still she couldn't shake the fact that something was completely out of place when she had gone to pick up their food. For one, Akane had said that it was only going to be the guy she had seen from yesterday working there, and two, the purple haired woman obviously had a staring problem that had irritated her to no end.

She stopped mid-slurp as she realized something. The purple-haired woman had only started staring at her when she had been rudely cut off from saying Akane's name, not to mention that she had been cut off by that guy from yesterday with the coke bottle lenses. Was that the girl that Akane had mentioned on her birthday? The girl that was her enemy? Gulping down the rest of her noodles she turned her head at the sound of her best friend coming down the stairs.

"Oh! The food is here!"

Kohana smiled to herself as she watched Akane waddle into the room as quickly as she could and carefully seat herself at the table. She was obviously clad in one of Ranma's sweatshirts but even that seemed a bit tight around her stomach. "Jeez Akane, you act like the food is going to up and run off from the table!" Akane shot her friend a glare but it dissolved the minute a delicious aroma reached her nostrils. Man was she hungry. "Sorry Kohana-chan but I'm absolutely famished! I haven't really had time to eat something yet."

Kohana just sat back and observed her friend, more specifically the bags under her eyes. Had she not slept in the last twenty-four hours? "Hey," Akane stopped mid-slurp to look up at her, "What's up with the raccoon-impression?"

Akane's eyebrows met in confusion as she stuffed her mouth once again. "What? What are you talking about?" Kohana just shot her a glare as she waited for Akane to finish her meal. "You know what I'm talking about, but in case you don't I mean those huge bags under your eyes. Spill it."

Akane sat back and pat her rounded belly, wincing slightly as a sharp pain shot through her for a second which didn't go unnoticed by her friend. "W-what's wrong? Are you alright?" Akane sighed as she shifted slightly, the pain gone immediately thanks to the new position she had settled herself into. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just, I've been having these pains lately. Braxton Hicks contractions are what Dr. Wayama called them…" She stopped her explanation as she watched Kohana whip out her phone and promptly do a search on the topic. The girl was impossible sometimes.

"So… have you been drinking enough water? Sleeping on your left side? Do you have to pee?" Akane sighed with slight irritation. Of course Kohana would become overly cautious with her after researching something on the internet. "Yes, yes, and no. I don't have to pee." Kohana gave her a skeptical look. "You sure?" Akane only stuck out her tongue in response. Of course she knew if she had to pee or not.

"What else is bothering you? I know it's not just these fake contractions."

Akane sighed and leaned back on her hands. Of course Kohana would be that perceptive, she always was. Oh well, might as well say something now seeing as she was probably going to get questioned about it again when Ranma got home from work in a few. "I've… I've been having these nightmares that have been keeping up for hours at night."

Kohana's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. Nightmares? "What… what kind of nightmares?" Akane looked warily at her and she quickly amended her earlier statement. "I mean, that is if you want to talk about it."

Akane looked down at her stomach and thought for a second. Did she really want to talk about it? They scared the hell out of her to the point where she couldn't go back to sleep until she passed out from pure exhaustion. However, they always say that it's better to talk about it than to keep it all in, right? "Well, they're about this woman... girl… whatever. Anyways, she's always chasing me down, saying that I'm an obstacle and that she's going to get rid of me. The scene always changes, but for some reason I'm always in the house; here. It scares the living crap out of me because they're becoming more and more real." By now Kohana was by her side, rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her friend down.

"What does she look like? Is it someone you know? Someone I know?"

"Yeah, but you don't know her. It's this purple-haired Chinese girl named Shampoo. I told you about her earlier."

Immediately Kohana froze in realization but Akane didn't seem to notice. "I don't know why I'm so paranoid about her. Mousse had said that she wasn't supposed to be back for a whole month and by then I'll have the baby. I think once I have the baby everything will be okay."

Kohana didn't seem to be listening, too shocked at the description of the woman that terrorized Akane in her dreams. Everything was starting to make sense about her trip to the Chinese restaurant earlier. The reason why the guy named Mousse cut her off before she could say Akane's name, the way the girl Shampoo stared at her afterwards, him basically rushing her out of the store; it all made sense. That woman was indeed the enemy then, the one that had everyone's (including her) panties in a bunch. She needed to talk to Ranma right away. "Kohana…"

As if on cue, Ranma came trudging through the door. He looked entirely exhausted but brightened up upon landing eyes on Akane. Tiredly he plopped himself down on the other side of his fiancée and grabbed her bowl, somewhat amused and disappointed that there was nothing in it. "Hey, how was your day?" He leaned in for a kiss but stopped short when he realized that Akane, despite her smile, looked like she hadn't slept in days and Kohana looked as if she had seen a ghost.

"Ranma."

Instantly his eyes were back on Akane's face, which held a bit of worry in her features. He plastered a smile on his face, trying to figure out why Kohana's expression bothered him so much. Akane was waiting for a reply and he had to scramble to remember what she had asked for a moment. "Oh, um, work was good. The clinic was a little busy but other than that it was fine." He closed the distance between them and placed his lips gently against hers. "How was your day?" She moved to reply but was hit again with another cramp in her stomach, which of course didn't go unnoticed by her two companions. "You okay?" Taking a deep breath she to her friend and waved off her fiancée's worried hands as she used the table to get back up. Once standing she smiled at both Kohana and Ranma's worried faces in an attempt to calm them. "Don't worry I'm fine. False contractions that's all. Remember this baby has quite a while yet left to go before it's time. I think I'm going to take Kohana's earlier advice and go to the bathroom, hopefully that will stop them."

The two nodded as she wandered out of the room and down the hall. Once she was out of sight, Kohana gathered the two bowls up mentioning that she was sorry she didn't order him something too. Ranma wasn't listening however, seeing that he was too preoccupied with a piece of paper that had fallen from the bag in Kohana's hands that bared his name. Slowly he picked it up and unfolded it, his eyes scanning the paper quickly. Suddenly he jumped up, surprising the smaller girl to the point that she almost dropped everything on to the floor.

"Geez Ranma, give me a heart attack why don't you!" The serious look on her face told her that he was not in the mood for any kind of banter as he shot a glance towards the entry way to the room. That was when she noticed the bit of paper crushed in his hand. "Kohana," her eyes snapped back up to meet his "I have to run somewhere to meet someone." Instantly a frown was on her face. "It's about that Chinese girl isn't it? What's her name Shampoo?" "Shhhh! Don't say her name so loud! If Akane hears it she'll freak!" With a huff Kohana shut her mouth and listened.

"Look, I'm running off to meet that guy that came here yesterday. I take it you must have had an encounter with her if you went to the Cat Café." She nodded in response and they both looked to see Akane heading from the bathroom to the kitchen, probably for something sweet. Once she was out of hearing range, Ranma turned his attention back to Kohana and continued to talk in a hushed whisper. "Look, I'll be back but I have to talk to this guy, he may be the only person who can really help us out. Don't tell Akane, okay? Make something up if you have to but the last thing I need is for her to freak out over this." Slowly Kohana nodded in understanding and instantly Ranma was out of the door.

Just as she heard the front door slide shut Akane appeared back in the room, happily munching away on a brownie. "Hey, where did Ranma go?"

"Oh, uh, he, uh, had to run back to the clinic. He said he forgot something there and he had to talk to Dr. Tofu about your Braxton Hicks contractions."

Akane eyed her warily. Something seemed out of place with that answer but she shrugged it off, instead deciding that she was entirely too tired to ask anything further and plus she was too into her heavenly slice of sweetness that Ukyo had made for her. "Hey Kohana, why don't we watch a movie or something until he gets back?"

Kohana smiled as she re-entered the room. "Sure sounds good." As they settled down, Kohana wished silently that Ranma would hurry back. She didn't like keeping secrets from her best friend. Hopefully he would be coming back with good news.

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**KTKG** **Says: **Well… there's really nothing to say except writer's block is a bitch. Anyways, here's a long overdue update that I hope you all enjoyed. I want to say that there are maybe four more chapters at the most and then…. sigh… it's done! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, they really help me continue on with this you know? Let's make it 300 reviews by the end okay? Okay. Everyone have a nice day!


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Kodachi was currently walking a thin line between confusion and irritation. As she looked out of her window, her usually ever faithful servant Sasuke's voice echoed through her mind and she felt herself teeter on the edge of irritation. What did he mean by that smart little comment that Ranma and Akane had chosen each other? And while she was at it how dare he tell her that she had to find out on her own!

Her older brother was nowhere to be seen, and as always when she did see him now, he was in no mood to speak to her let alone comment on the information Sasuke told her about. He was still in a bout of depression, and honestly it was beginning to annoy her if only for the sole purpose that he was her best source of information!

Huffing she pulled herself away from her desk, eyeing the coat that hung lazily on the back of her door. Sasuke's voice made itself known one more time in her mind and she finally fell over the edge, letting the irritation bubble up inside of her. Snatching her coat and a few of her ribbons up she trudged out of her door and down the hall.

There was something that was going on and she didn't like it one bit that she had no clue what it was. It irritated her even further that it had something to do with Ranma and that wretched Akane whom he has supposedly chosen when she was gone. Had he thought that she wasn't coming back? No, that couldn't be it; she had made sure he was left with sweet dreams of herself thanks to her latest and greatest powder before she had taken off. Could it have been some sort of Amazon trick or maybe some new spell? Her brother was always saying how her Ranma was some sort of sorcerer, maybe he actually is one and Akane used his own spells on him.

Whatever, it didn't matter; she was going to find out what was going on alright.

At this point she didn't care who told her.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Ranma huffed as he shifted his weight for the third time, tightening his scarf around him as he looked again at his surroundings. It was beginning to get colder out, and with his luck he'd probably freeze to death before the duck showed up like he promised. Sighing he sat himself down on a bench and surveyed it when he noticed that the person he was waiting on was not coming anytime soon it seemed.

He allowed his eyes to travel over the empty space beside him and he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped through his lips. He couldn't believe out of all the benches in the park, he had to choose the one that held his body's mark from oh so long ago.

Memories bombarded him as he felt himself relax. He felt the smile spread across his face as he lost himself to them, remembering just how much he actually hated that stupid armor. He cracked an eye open and eyed the smudge yet again. Akane couldn't say he didn't love her, after all he sat on a bench of wet paint for her and here was the proof. This bench was really the start of everything now that he thought about it.

The sound of leaves crunching under feet caught his attention and his shoulders sagged in relief as he caught sight of the Chinese man making his way towards him.

"Ranma."

Said person stood and greeted the glasses-clad man with a nod of his head. It was about damn time he showed up, seriously, he was starting to freeze and didn't know how much longer before he left to find Mousse himself. "Took you long enough." Mousse just gave him a glare as Ranma shrugged to himself. That guy never really had a sense of humor to begin with, did he?

"My apologies, I had to actually live up to my excuse to get away from the restaurant." To emphasize his point he motioned to the bag he held in his hands. Ranma nodded again and motioned to the bench he had been sitting on not too long ago. "You want to take a seat? I'm sure you have a lot…"

"No time. I'll get straight to the point."

_Oookay_. Ranma's head snapped back around at the urgency in his companion's voice. Well, he guessed they should stop dancing around the subject and get straight to the point. Time was ticking and they didn't have much left to waste. "Okay, fine. What's going on?"

Mousse huffed slightly as he adjusted himself to a more comfortable standing position, his breath coming out in a white little cloud. "As I'm sure you guessed Shampoo is back." Ranma leveled him with a bored stare. _Thank you captain obvious_. He shrugged his last thought off as another thought popped in his head. "Why are they back so early? I thought you said they wouldn't be back for another couple of months?"

Mousse sighed again and shifted his bag back and forth. "I know I know. Imagine how surprised I was when I learn about you and Akane and then get another surprise of a lifetime when I find them at home!" Another white cloud ascended in the air. "She's back and on a mission. The sooner she completes it the better I suppose."

Ranma's eyebrow arched towards his hairline. Mission? What the hell did that mean? His confusion must have been written all over his face because Mousse decided to elaborate on his last comment. "Thanks to Cologne, Shampoo has been selected to be the next leader of our village." At this, both of Ranma's eyebrows shot up as his eyes went wide. "This is only on the condition that she completes a mission of sorts…"

Ranma didn't like where this was going one bit as his mind conjured up all the possible 'missions' she could have. "Wha… um, what kind of mission would that be?" He had to admit he was a bit scared to hear the answer.

"To get her husband and come home."

Ranma was silent for a moment as that last sentence finished echoing in his ears. "Her… husband? I'm taking that that means me right?" Mousse nodded slowly, trying to gauge Ranma's reaction as he let the information sink in. So far, Mousse could only see confusion project itself on Ranma's face.

Ranma, meanwhile, was experiencing a rainbow of emotions. First it was confusion, then disbelief that she would think he would go with her willingly, and then anger because he knew that there was something else that Mousse wasn't telling him. Finally fear hit him hard as he thought of the love of his life and his unborn child sitting at home without him. "But…" he tried to put his mind to use as he spoke. It wasn't any use as anger seemed to get the best of him. "You said that Akane being pregnant solved this problem! Why is this even an issue!" Mousse waited for Ranma's voice to finish echoing in the surprisingly quiet park before he answered.

"It's an issue because with Shampoo as the new leader, she and Cologne can change or create as many laws as they want. That is if the council agrees, and with all the abilities you possess I'm sure the council wouldn't mind overlooking some things if it meant you would become a part of the tribe."

Ranma shivered as Mousse's logic sunk deep into his bones, chilling him inside out as he tried to come to terms with what it exactly meant. "So… what do we do now? I take it I can't find a loophole out of this situation can I?" Saying it out loud made his heart and stomach drop. It was almost as if he was resigning himself to defeat. He tried to convince himself that there was a way out, that there was some shining solution that they were still blind to but the defeated sigh from Mousse only served to prove his first feeling true.

"I'm not sure yet. Maybe if we could buy some time until I can find a solution. There has to be something with you and Akane that can forfeit Shampoo's claim on you." Mousse glanced at the huge clock located at the top of a nearby shopping center and Ranma sensed his urgency. He had said that he was just grabbing some groceries and if he didn't hurry back the elder amazon would begin to catch on. "I'll let you know if I find anything."

Ranma nodded, the wheels in his head turning a mile a minute. "Okay. In the mean time I'll have to find somewhere for Akane and the baby to stay that Shampoo wouldn't think to look. I think I know just the place…"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"You're late boy."

Mousse had to hold the irritated growl in as he maneuvered around in the small kitchen to set the groceries down. The woman was probably centuries old for all he knew but it seemed her hearing got better as the decades wore on. Shouldn't it be the complete opposite?

"Did you hear me boy?"

He turned from his staring at the plastic bag on the counter in front of him and looked over his shoulder to find Cologne's piercing gaze meet his own. He winced slightly as he tried to occupy himself quickly to break the contact. Dammit. The old bat was trying to read him through his eyes. He wouldn't make this easy. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked what took you so long?"

"I ran into the okonomiyaki chef at the market and I lost track of time talking about how business has been." Technically that wasn't really a lie. He _had _actually run into her at the market… weeks ago. Now that he thought about it they hadn't even really spoke past acknowledging one another. Hm.

Damn.

That even sounded horrible to him as well. Of course the old crone would be able to see right through that one. As if on cue, her eyes narrowed in response as a wrinkly crease she would have called a smirk graced her mouth. "The okonomiyaki chef huh? Since when have you had any kind of contact with her?"

He was smooth with his response, not bothering to miss a beat. "I discovered that she isn't as bad as Shampoo makes her out to be. A lot of things have changed while you and Shampoo were gone." At least _that _wasn't a lie. It was the blatant truth actually. He knew she had inkling already so pausing to think about his next response would just confirm her suspicions.

Unfortunately for him, his response did the exact opposite and spurred her to narrow her eyes further at him if that was even possible. Dammit. "I bet things have changed, haven't they?"

The two stared each other down until Mousse realized something he failed to upon his arrival back at the Cat Café. The place was quiet, entirely too quiet now that he thought about. Something was missing…

His eyes widened as Cologne's smirk grew.

"Where's Shampoo?"

"She's out handling business."

As Cologne's comment registered in his head Mousse decided to throw all caution to the wind and dropped the food in his hands as he rushed towards the exit. Cologne's voice stopped him dead in his tracks however just as he was about to cross the threshold.

"You're too late."

He didn't even turn to face her. He could hear the full blown smile in her voice with his back to her. The steady ping of her cane on the floor however eventually made him face her. "There's something that you're not telling me Mu Tsu…"

She continued on her path towards him, her eyes never leaving his. He felt himself grow stiff as she neared him, fear taking a hold of his heart for some reason. Why was he afraid of her? Technically she wasn't his enemy, they were of the same origins after all, so why the sudden dread in the pit of his stomach? She stopped right in front of him and that's when he realized what it was. She knew. She knew that he was up to something and that meant that there was possibly two lives in danger now that she did. He couldn't help the next words that fell from his mouth, but he had to say them. He had to say something so she knew things hopefully weren't going to end as she though they would.

"He's made his choice."

The sentence really had no impact as she laughed it off despite the slight widening of her eyes. "That doesn't matter, the original reason why we even came here still stands. Ranma defeated my granddaughter in battle, and that means he's her husband." They both knew that such an excuse had expired a long time ago but as long as she could keep telling herself that was the reason, she'd take any means necessary to justify her actions.

"Akane is with child."

That seemed to finally knock that grin off her face. He hated that he had to already use his last resort, not to mention tell a very important secret in such a way, but it was absolutely necessary. At least he thought it was if the look on Cologne's face was any indication. The shock that resided there was indeed priceless.

The moment was short lived however as he watched her face become an indistinguishable mask of indifference. She was trying to control the situation again. He had to think quickly to not only keep her occupied but somehow warn Ranma about what was coming his way. He glanced around using his peripherals to see that the restaurant was still empty. Good. If he had to push her down as a last resort to beat feet to his destination no one would be around to make him feel bad for manhandling a senior (or ancient) citizen.

"That still doesn't matter."

His focus was suddenly back on her again and her face was the same as the last time his eyes had left it; blank.

"The council has decided that Shampoo not only needs to bring back her husband, but she also needs to take care of her outstanding obligations." When Mousse didn't say anything in response she mockingly added on "that includes the kiss of death she gave son-in-law's apparent choice."

His breath instantly caught in his throat at her retort. Instantly he felt anger bombard him as she had the audacity to allow a smirk to finally break that mask of hers.

Never in a million years would he have thought she, or even Shampoo, would be as cold hearted as to attack a woman who was defenseless and with child. As she stood there in front of him, her eyes daring to twinkle with mirth at the idea she had just presented, he allowed his anger to finally come through.

"You are pure evil. Ranma would never allow such a thing to happen! You know he won't spare you or Shampoo." Her smirk only grew an inch as he began to feel himself start to shake with outrage. "He would never hit a female, even if he was in female form himself and you know it." This time however, it was Mousse's turn to laugh.

"How ignorant can you be? The man took a GOD down to revenge Akane after he thought she was dead. Can you honestly sit here and say that he would hesitate to take you and Shampoo out if not only Akane but his unborn child are involved?"

Mousse took her moment of silence as the end of the conversation and turned swiftly to leave. He had to hurry to reach them as he's wasted enough time already where he was. A sudden burst of cold hit him however and he felt a familiar and hateful feeling overcome him. He sighed in irritation and frustration. Well, really he quacked.

The ever annoying ping of Cologne's cane neared him again and this time he found himself looking up at her. Damn that ancient witch. "Your words ring true boy, but only if he knew what was coming. As far as he's concerned neither I nor Shampoo have any idea about Akane's condition."

Mousse tried his best to fly away, but she bested him yet again with an easy tap to a certain pressure point at the back of his little head that sent him crashing back down to the floor. He tried to stare daggers at the person before him but found it hard with black creeping up into his vision. "I'm sorry but I can't have you interfering with any of this. Shampoo needs to do this… it's what's best for our tribe."

Mousse's last thought before he blacked out completely was that he wanted no part of the tribe she spoke of if they celebrated the killing of innocent unborn children.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Hiro, can you please just do this for me? It's not that hard!"

"_Not that hard? You've got to be kidding me, that futon weighs a ton and you want me to bring it all the way up to your room for you? Tell me again why you're even bothering to ask me to do this favor?"_

Kohana bit back some choice words for her twin as she stared into the wall before her. She was standing in the Tendou's front entrance on the phone and trying to remind herself that she wasn't at home and she couldn't really say what she wanted to say at the moment. "Look, please just do this for me? Akane's family is going to go on a trip but she's too far along to go with so she's going to stay with us. It's not that big of a deal! The least you can do is bring the damn futon up to my room!"

"_Uh huh. Yeah, and how long is she staying with us while her family goes on this mystical vacation?"_

Kohana sighed. Sometimes she couldn't believe he was her brother let alone her twin. "A month, maybe."

"_A month."_

Silence greeted her as she strained to hear him taking the story in. He wasn't that bright, he had to buy it. After all, it was the only thing she could come up with on such short notice considering Ranma had called asking her to take Akane in fifteen minutes ago. She heard her brother clear his throat on the other end and crossed her fingers.

"_Alright. I'll do it. But you owe me considering I'm going to have to not only bring a heavy futon up to your bedroom but I'm going to have to also think up a better story than that to tell dad. A month's vacation 'Hana? Seriously? And here I thought you were always the creative one."_

Kohana released the breath she had been holding in a rush, thanking whatever god was out and looking over her at the moment. "Yeah yeah I owe you big. This really means a lot to me you know."

Finishing her goodbyes on the phone with her brother she finally hung up. She stared at her hand still gripping itself around the receiver even though it was in its cradle. She realized after a moment that the rattling noise she was hearing was her hand shaking the phone and promptly released it, holding both appendages out in front of her to verify that they were indeed shaking.

What has she gotten herself into? More importantly what has Akane gotten herself into? Teenage pregnancies weren't without their drama; she had learned this first hand while staying in America for a while, but this was on a whole different level. People were out to get her best friend, her best friend and her best friend's fiancé to be exact, and from the way people were acting things were about to get real serious.

She willed her hands to stop their movements as she found a brand new determination within herself. She would be there for Akane, she was really the only friend that she had left. They had lived through a lot together; first when Kohana's mom died then Akane's, not to mention the ridicule that Kohana experienced while growing up for how she looked. True, this was something she wasn't used to as far as drama levels go, but she'd be there to help her friend in any way that she needed her to. Plus, the way that Ranma sounded on the phone and sworn her to secrecy proved that a lot was riding on her help.

Sighing she finally turned herself away from the phone and began to head back inside to break the news to Akane someway that she was about to become a temporary fixture in the Kobashi residence.

***BAM***

"What the hell…?"

Kohana turned and headed in the opposite direction instead to investigate the sudden and almost absurdly loud sound. She didn't get that far however when the front shoji slid aside so rough they almost came off they frame altogether.

She was frozen on the spot when she suddenly found herself staring into angry and almost crazed gray eyes that belonged to a girl that looked roughly her age. Kohana remained silent as she watched said girl's eyes travel up and down her frame, almost in what could be called disgust. Her nose flared as did her irritation as she widened her stance a bit and she planted her fists firmly on her hips, staring the gray-eyed woman back in the face.

"Can I help you?"

Kodachi continued to scrutinize the girl in front of her. Who was this person? She's never seen her before. Oh well, it didn't matter. She was here for one reason and one reason only.

"Where is Ranma?"

Kohana's eyes narrowed slightly at the demand in the woman's voice. Who did this lady think she was coming in here demanding to see people and not even announcing who she was? Yet again, Kohana had to remind herself that this wasn't her house. Hell, for all she knew this could be something of a regular occurrence the people seemed to act around here. It has been two years since she's really been something of a temporary figure in this house.

"Ranma's not here. He stepped out."

Kodachi's eyes narrowed at the smaller female in front of her, her anger and irritation finally getting the best of her. She had been mulling over this for over twenty-four hours! She wanted answers and she wanted them _now_. Leveling her gaze with the person in front of her she calmly stated "you're lying."

"_Excuse_ me?"

Kohana couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this woman not all there in the head? "Where are you hiding him?" Okay, she definitely wasn't playing with a full deck. "Look lady I'm not hiding him anywhere. I told you he stepped out and he'll be back later. Why don't you come back then?"

Something wasn't sitting right with this situation for Kohana. She had to defuse the situation and fast before-

"Kohana? Who's at the door?"

Kohana inwardly winced as she watched the slightly psychotic woman's eyes shift from off of her face to behind her. The instantly widened when she guessed the one person she didn't want to come downstairs did and gave this unsuspecting woman a generous view of her 'condition' as everyone has taken to calling it.

Great. Juuuuuuuust great. She was in for it now. Akane was going to chew her up for being rude; a guest is a guest she supposed. Kohana's thought process stopped abruptly when she realized that she was shrouded in complete silence as the two other people in the room were busy staring at each other. Her head whipped back and forth to take in the stunned expression of each woman and realized that something was not right. Her suspicions were confirmed not even a second after the thought crossed her mind.

Akane turned to make a break for the dojo while the other woman screeched out a sentence that caused Kohana to do a double-take.

"WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS?"

Kodachi was enraged at the sight she had seen just a moment ago. It had to be sorcery, it just had to. There was no way that what she had just seen was actually true. Quickly she reached into her coat pocket for her ribbon. Akane was getting away and she wanted answers and proof that what she just saw was an illusion.

Kohana on the other hand flew into auto-pilot mode the minute she saw the woman reach for something. Without thinking she jumped in between the stranger and her best friend, delivering a swift roundhouse kick to her midsection and sending the pigtailed woman flying. Stunned momentarily by her own actions, Kohana couldn't help but smirk as the other woman crashed through the shoji she had forced aside roughly not that long ago. Hot damn, she still had it.

Akane came rushing back into the room with a bokken in her hands at the sound of damage being done to her home. "Are you okay Kohana?" Kohana's brows creased. Now was not the time to worry about if people were okay. They had to get out of there before-

Kohana's thoughts were cut short as she found the floor swiftly rising up to meet her. A loud smack was heard when her face collided with the ground as her feet were yanked out from beneath her thanks to Kodachi's ribbon which had wrapped itself around her ankle while she was distracted. She was out cold.

Akane turned to attempt to rush back up the stairs she had originally come down, terror etched in her face. This just was not her day! Actually make that her month! First Kuno, now his crazy sister! She stopped dead in her tracks as she reached the top of the stairs, the bokken still grasped tightly in her hands. What was she doing? Her best friend was downstairs with that psycho woman probably looming over her with kami knows what kind of powder. Kohana had some training, thanks to her own father when they were younger, but it wasn't enough and it's probably been a really long time since she practiced.

Looking down at her distended belly, then to the weapon in her hands, Akane finally resolved that some way somehow she was going to go back down there and help her friend. Just as soon as she could get her hands to stop shaking and her heart rate to return to normal.

Peering over her shoulder she watched as Kodachi slowly approached the landing, leaving only a staircase separating them. Her grip tightened suddenly, the wood digging into her palms slightly as she took one shaky last breath. She could do this; her friend was depending on her.

Kodachi on the other hand glanced up at Akane's back. It had to be an illusion, from here she didn't look like she was expecting at all. "What kind of trickery have you used on my dear Ranma you hussy!" Taking a step forward, ascending the stairs slowly one at a time. Akane closed her eyes for a second to prepare herself but shot them open as she heard Kodachi stumbled apparently on the way up.

Her eyes adjusted only to see that not only had Kodachi stumbled on the steps, she was now lying face down on them with an enraged pot-wielding Kohana standing over her. Honestly, she had to say the sight before her was heaven sent.

"Kohana! You're alright!"

As Akane tried to make her way down to her, Kohana was wasting no time in attempting to hog tie Kodachi with some shoelaces. "Akane, honey, I love you like the sister I never had but you know some really fucked up people! Seriously, things must have really gone to the nuthouse once I left and we hit high school. Sorcery? Seriously? WHO SAYS SHIT LIKE THAT?"

Akane had to stifle a giggle of relief at her friend's rant. She couldn't blame her though, even with the added foul language Akane had to admit that's exactly how she felt at times herself. "Okay that should do it. I'm going to find some duct tape or something for her mouth and call the cops while you get your stuff together. I'm sorry 'Kane but you're staying with me for a while if stuff like this is going to keep happening. I'm sure Ranma would agree with me."

Akane nodded. She had a point. It seemed like everyone was migrating to the house that she was stuck in since she was nearing the end in month and why wouldn't they? Everyone knew where she lived, but no one knew where Kohana stayed, let alone knew who she was to begin with. Staying with her until she had the baby only made sense.

"Okay, just give me a second and I'll…"

The house shook a bit and the two looked at each other in confusion. "Earthquake?" Akane shook her head. "No I don't think so. That seemed to be the house frame shaking not the ground…" Akane's eyes widened as she thought over her last statement. She had a sick flash of déjà vu. It couldn't be _that _coming true could it? It just couldn't…

Both women turned their heads to look at the top of the stairs as footsteps echoed in the quiet they had created. Slowly, Akane inched her way closer to Kohana whom was doing the same as first a slippered foot, then capri-clad lag came into view. Akane knew those clothes all too well, and as much as she hated to admit it, her worse nightmare was about to come true. She glanced at Kohana who's eyes were wide with recognition as the person came into full view.

_This is it, _Kohana thought, _the shit has officially hit the fan._

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**KTKG Says: **Aaaaaand that's it. For now. Sorry for the incredibly long wait for this update. I've had a monkey wrench thrown into what you would call my life and well, things have been out of whack lately to say the least. One good things to mention though is I got engaged! YAY!

Anyways I hope you guys haven't given up on this story and enjoyed this chapter! Please review! Reviews are what I live for and they keep me going when it comes to finishing this story, not to mention they let me know what you think about it. So please… be kind and leave something nice or constructive for me.

Until next time….


	20. Chapter 20

**KTKG** **says**: Hey everyone. Sorry for the long wait yet again but here I am, with a brand spankin' new chapter for you all! We're getting close to the end now but I can't tell you how many more chapters that will be exactly. Anyways I want to thank you all for reviewing and continuing to read this story. You don't know how much it means to me!

Now, that that's all said and done, I have one last thing to say… on with the story!

Remember, **BOLD** lettering means it's in Chinese!

**Chapter 20**

Ranma was lost in his thoughts as he shuffled down the street towards his current place of residence. Mousse's words were on replay in his head, blocking out the world around him as he instinctually avoided the oncoming people on the sidewalk with him. His mind was a million miles away and with the information that he was trying to digest right about then he wished he were too.

He knew that the Amazons could be ruthless but never really realized it until now. Mousse had made the whole thing out like Shampoo was nothing but a solider sent on a mission and for all he knew she actually was. She was out to claim a prize, and that prize was him whether he liked it or not.

Roughly he tugged at the scarf around his neck as his brain continued to turn over the conversation he had just had a moment ago. He knew that they were basically out of any options aside from confronting the Amazons head on, however that still didn't stop him from trying to think of something. He knew that the phone call he had just made to Kohana had maybe bought them some time but the question was how much? Would it even be enough?

He had stopped walking then and found that he wasn't that far from Ukyo's place. On a whim, he decided to pay her a visit. Maybe she had some ideas of her own, not to mention Akane would be rather pleased with him if he were to bring home her favorite dish as a peace offering for just leaving like that earlier.

His thoughts flew away from him yet again as he maneuvered his way over to the shop, not once taking in his surroundings. A crunching sound from beneath his feet brought him back to reality however and once his eyes took in the sight before him he had to blink to make sure it was real.

The place was a complete disaster.

Tables and chairs were thrown wildly here and there. Broken dishes laid everywhere with huge holes in the floors and the walls. A pale hand behind the counter on the floor caught his attention and he took off in a mad dash towards it. Sure enough, there tangled on the floor with what used to be part of her spatula rack was none other than the shop's owner herself.

"UKYO!"

At the scream of her name, Ukyo's brain seemed to come back online with a horrible headache that had jump-started it. Cracking an eye open, she was dumbfounded when Ranma's face came into focus above her. Was that worry? "Ranma?"

Relief swept over his features as he helped her up. "Thank goodness you're okay." Frowning she allowed him to help her up into a seated position before he crouched down next to her on the floor. "Are you alright?"

Ukyo exhaled as her spine straightened and glanced around her shop. What the hell happened? The last thing she remembered was closing up shop for the night and then…

Ranma's storm-colored eyes came into view and cut her train of thought off. "Are you ok?" She looked herself over. No severe damage that she could see from here. Taking a deep breath she assessed that she didn't have any internal injuries either. Then again, maybe she was in shock. "I'm fine, just… trying to remember exactly what happened…"

Surveying her restaurant once more she noticed the huge hole in the side of the establishment and instantly memories bombarded her as her eyes widened and frantically met Ranma's. "Oh god, Ranma, she's back!" Fisting her hands in his coat she shook him hard, emphasizing the next couple of words that came from her mouth. "Shampoo! She's responsible for all of this!"

Ranma frowned as he pried her hands away from his coat and looked around as well. "I know. Mousse and I just had a conversation about it. She's out to eliminate the competition and I guess that means you too." Ukyo's hands slacked in his grip as she processed what she just heard. "Eliminate?"

Ranma's frown deepened as he watched terror take shape on Ukyo's features, then confusion took over. "She… she could have killed me but she didn't." He nodded in agreement, feeling his own confusion hit. Shampoo hadn't finished the job with Ukyo; instead she just left her unconscious. Not exactly what Mousse had been implying she would do. Shaking his head he helped Ukyo to her feet. That was something that he would have to contemplate later, right now he had to get Ukyo out of here and somewhere else.

"Can you walk? We have to get you out of here." Struggling a bit, he managed to get her to her feet, however upon going vertical she promptly loss consciousness. "Great." Mumbling to himself he found a chair that wasn't turned over on it's side and sat her down in it, holding on to her shoulder so she wouldn't fall over as he tried to figure things out.

Just as he was about to give up and let Ukyo take one for the team as so he could phone for help, a scraping sound reached his ears and instantly he froze. Was Shampoo back to finish what she started with Ukyo? His whole body tensed at the sound increased in volume but instantly relaxed when none other than a black curly tail came into view.

Ryouga.

A smile made its way across his lips. He had to admit, that man had the worse sense when it came to direction but the best when it came to timing.

He was going to need all the help he could get.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kohana refused to open her eyes.

She had the craziest dream that seemed too real for comfort. It sounded childish, but she was afraid of opening her eyes and finding out that it was indeed real. For one, her body and head ached like she had been through everything her overactive imagination dreamed up. She could actually taste copper in her mouth, and her left arm throbbed with a pain she didn't even want to decipher.

But none of it could be real, could it? It couldn't have been. She must have bit her cheek or something in her sleep, not have been kicked in the face, so that's why she tasted blood. And her arm throbbed because she slept on it funny, not because she tried to deflect something that looked like a beach ball on a stick and possibly broke it.

Yep, it was all a dream.

Geez, she really needed to stop sneaking spicy midnight snacks.

Any minute now Sano would come barreling into her room demanding that she stop Hiro from harassing him or eating all the breakfast that their father had so thoughtfully prepared for them.

Yep, any minute now.

After what seemed like forever, she realized that maybe Sano wouldn't be doing his daily routine and maybe, just maybe, she hadn't dreamed everything up. Slowly she cracked an eye open, trying to avoid the rays of sunlight she knew would make her headache worse, but they flew open instead as she realized a startling fact.

It was night and this was not her room.

Slowly she turned her head to the side to find a peculiar sight. Sitting on a chair next to the desk with the illuminated lamp on it was a boy around the same age as her. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and his head rested against the wall behind him. She took her time as her eyes roamed over his frame in what she could only pin as appreciation.

The boy was built, that much she could see from his arms and shoulders. His yellow bandana pulled his bangs back enough to give her a clear view of his face, which was slack with sleep. Only one though came to mind.

The boy was hot.

The throbbing in her arm started back up and reluctantly she tore her eyes away from the wondrous sight in front of her and looked at the pained appendage. Instantly her eyes watered as she took in the state of her arm. It was just laying there next to her in what could only be a homemade splint in an effort to keep it immobilized. Her heart sank and her vision became even more blurred as tears rapidly built up in them. It wasn't a dream, everything had really happened, and that means that Akane…

A sob escaped her throat before she could stop it.

"Are you okay?"

Her eyes snapped open and tears spilled down her cheeks as she was greeted with a pair of warm, worried brown eyes. For some reason this only made her cry harder, which served to startle the boy further. "Uh, please don't cry! Are you in pain?" Kohana attempted to answer him but another sob was the only thing that managed to come out.

Obviously unsure of what to do, the boy headed out of the room and into the hallway to shout for Ranma. A few seconds later the room was crowded with as many people as it would hold, Ranma and the doctor from the clinic he works at in the front. At the sight of her best friend's fiancée, she couldn't hold it in anymore and broke down.

She had failed to keep her friend safe.

Ranma on the other hand could do nothing but try to comfort the girl in front of him. He had to commend her for her attempts in whatever happened. He had come back to the dojo with Ukyo and Ryouga only to find it in shambles with none other than Kohana passed out in the rubble of what used to be a wall and Kodachi hog-tied with none other than shoelaces. After getting the girls situated with Ryouga's help, he appointed Ryouga as Kohana's watcher while he made a phone call to Dr. Tofu.

Kohana's breathing finally calmed after a minute or two and her hiccup brought Ranma out of his thoughts. "Please tell me that I fell down your steps or something and I dreamed up everything else." Ranma couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She looked like he felt on the inside.

From his silence Kohana was able to tell that everything she thought she had dreamed was indeed reality and that Ranma was probably waiting for an answer as to what happened to his fiancée. Wiping her eyes with her good hand she sat up and allowed for the doctor to give her an exam before starting her explanation.

"It was that Shampoo chick."

The whole room went silent and she could feel Ranma freeze at the mention of that name. Clearing her throat she continued on, not raising her eyes to meet anyone but rather choosing to keep them locked on what the doctor was doing to her arm.

"I uh… I had just finished tying up the other crazy woman that had popped up when we heard this loud crash upstairs and the whole house shook. Next thing we know, Shampoo comes around the corner and…." She tried to keep the wavering from her voice but failed miserably as the events replayed themselves in her mind. Suddenly her teary eyes shot up to meet Ranma's sad but understanding ones. "I'm so sorry Ranma, I tried I really did! I feel so useless! I just… If I had been stronger then that crazy ass bitch and her little thing of an accomplice wouldn't have got her-"

"Wait, wait, accomplice? She had someone with her?" Kohana's eyebrows met in frustration as she tried to remember something. "Yeah… I woke up for a second after she sent me through the wall and saw that Shampoo wasn't by herself. There was this… thing, like an old mummy or something on a stick. It knocked Akane out with one touch, said something to Shampoo, and then left. After that I passed back out."

Ranma was silent as he took everything in, vaguely hearing Dr. Tofu telling Kohana her arm was indeed broken and the murmur of the others as they filled out of the room in search of other things to do.

"Ranma."

Ranma looked up and around to find that it was just he, Kohana, Ryouga, Soun and his father left in the room with him. He wasn't sure who called his name, but every last one of them looked worried. Ryouga was the first to say something in the silence that seemed to be smothering them.

"It sounds like Cologne is more involved than we think." Ranma nodded in response, not liking this little revelation one bit. Cologne meant trouble, plain and simple, but he really didn't have time to worry about that now did he? He had to do something quick seeing as Akane was in danger, and worrying about everyone involved wasn't going to help the situation much. He had to get a hold of Mousse as soon as possible, which in reality meant right that second.

He looked over at Kohana only to find her staring as indiscreetly as possible at Ryouga with a slight blush on her cheeks. So, Akane's tomboy of a best friend actually had feelings other than anger and annoyance. He was sure if Akane were here she would tease her friend senseless…

"Ranma, there's a letter here for you."

All eyes turned to Kasumi who stood in the doorway with a limp piece of paper in her hands. Ranma stood and approached her, trying not to notice the distressed look on her face. Taking the letter from her he read it in relative silence, growling slightly when he got to the end and crumpled the thing in his hand. Turning back to everyone else in the room he cleared his throat and tried to compose himself before he spoke.

"I need everyone to rest up well for the next couple of hours." He turned back to Akane's sister in the doorway. "How is Ukyo doing?" "She's doing fine. Dr. Tofu is checking her over right now and she's eating. Speaking of which, Kohana do you have an appetite?" Kohana thought for a second, then nodded.

Kasumi turned to leave but then stopped just before she crossed the threshold. She turned partially around towards Ranma and glanced at the crumpled paper in his hands before speaking. "Ranma, I know that you're going to make sure my sister and niece or nephew will end up safe, but I want you to take care of yourself. I can't bare to see my sister without her other half and your child without their father. Not to mention you're family now, and the only brother I have for the moment. Just please, promise me that you'll come back too."

With one final pleading look she turned around and headed out the door presumably towards the kitchen, leaving Ranma in a mild state of shock. Sure, he knew that they considered him family, but to actually hear it was another story. Kasumi must have read the letter before handing it to him, no wonder she looked the way she did.

Turning back to the other occupants in the room, he prepared himself to plan out his next couple of steps and explain what exactly was at stake, even though he was sure everyone already knew the problem he was facing.

Looking back at the crumpled paper in his hands he recalled it's contents and had the sensation of someone stabbing him in the heart. With Cologne now thrown thoroughly in the mix and more than likely running the show, his options on how to go about this were slim.

For that specific reason, he wasn't sure he could promise his sister what she was asking of him.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Shampoo couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight in front of her.

Of all the things she was expecting upon going to the dojo, this was not one of them. She was expecting to burst into her husband's room, not into what looked to be a nursery for a baby, and definitely not to the sight that was in front of her now.

"**What's wrong my child?**" Shampoo spun around and caught sight of her great-grandmother standing in the doorway. "**Nothing, I was just thinking." **The steady ping echoing off the walls signaled that she had come to stand next to her, more than likely to look at the same wonder she was.

"**Do you think it's real?**" Cologne scoffed at her questions and turned a keen eye on her. "**Of course it's real, but you shouldn't let that stop you child. You came here to take care of your outstanding obligations and that is what you should be focused on.**"

Shampoo winced at the tone used with those last words and felt as though she were five again. She knew better than to say what she was about to but she couldn't help it, it was something that she had instilled in her since she could remember. "**But the law… she's technically married to him. I could be put to death for doing what you want me to do!**" Cologne's eyes narrowed and response while she snorted yet again at the nonsense that was coming out of her great-granddaughter's mouth.

"**Shampoo. You are to be the next leader of our tribe, that's a law that you can not only change, but no one will know about it but you and I. Do you want to shame our family and lose this chance at being the greatest leader in our tribes history?**"

Shampoo was silent in response, contemplating the words carefully, and then shook her head slowly. Of course she didn't want to disgrace her family and all that but this, this was something that she wasn't sure she was able to go along with.

"**Sometimes, the best path is not always the easiest child. You're doing what you have to with the best interests of our tribe in mind. Besides, you want Ranma don't you?" **Shampoo hesitantly nodded. "**Then this is the only way. Ranma will come to us for her, but if he does not comply you know what you must do.**"

The echoing ping signaled the finality of the conversation and didn't help the feeling in Shampoo's stomach. She knew what she had to do, her great-grandmother did have a point, and she would do it too.

For the sake of her tribe and with her family's honor on the line, she would do whatever she had to.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**KTKG Says: **Okay… so that's it for now. I'm sure it's riddled with grammatical issues and whatnot but I just wanted to get this out while I could. I'm in the process of preparing for graduation next month as well as moving, so a holiday like today was perfect for me to write this! I hope you like it and remember… REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Akane awoke with a start. Trying to catch her breath she decided to lie still, not exactly wanting to wake up the person next to her. As her eyes attempted to adjust to the darkness, she recounted what exactly it was that had her jumping awake.

Her dreams were becoming too realistic.

She had been feeling this way for a while, but this last one… this last one really took the cake. Shaking her head a bit to rid her of the images, she finally noticed something was out of place, or rather, something was missing. The room was silent, void of all noises, especially one that has become something of a comfort to her in situations like this; Ranma's snoring.

Slowly, trying to calm her suddenly wildly beating heart, she reached out beside her to check that he was indeed there however she wound up having to stifle a squeal of panic. Taking a deep breath, she tried again but this time allowed a whimper of worry to escape her.

She couldn't move her hands.

Frantically she whipped her eyes, which had now slightly adjusted to the lack of light, around the room to find that her panic was indeed justified. She wasn't in her room with her fiancée next to her, in her comfy bed, in her comfy pajamas. Instead she was in a room that looked strangely familiar to her for reasons beyond her at the moment.

Plain and simple, she wasn't home.

Her dream instantly came back to her and she realized, with gut wrenching panic, that maybe it wasn't a dream at all. Everything had actually happened. That means…

"Xian Pu!"

Akane's eyes widened in shocked confirmation of her earlier thoughts as the familiar Chinese name was shouted outside of the room she was in. Somehow she managed to calm herself down and turned her head just in time as the door was opened slowly. Evening her breathing out she feigned sleep as the woman who managed to haunt her in her dreams and now real life approached her.

For some reason, Shampoo seemed cautious, especially when she leaned over her to get a better look. Through her eyelashes Akane saw that she was not looking at her, but rather her stomach. Suddenly she felt the bottom of her (or rather Ranma's) sweatshirt and undershirt lift and had to hold back a hiss as the cold air touched her skin. What was Shampoo doing? Dread suddenly filled her as horror stories of women having their babies cut right out of them…

A sob caught her attention and against her will her eyes flew open.

That wasn't from her that was from Shampoo. Quickly she closed her eyes once more as she noticed Shampoo beginning to straighten herself out, wiping her face in the process. Was she really that disturbed? Or was she really that in love with Ranma? Despite whom it was standing there beside her Akane felt her heart squeeze a bit for the obviously hurt woman in front of her.

The moment was gone in a flash however when the elder of the Amazons hopped her way into the room, whispering harshly something to Shampoo in Chinese. The girl only nodded in response, stopping only once to lift what looked like some kind of bound bird up… Mousse! Akane's heart sank as she realized that they had also caught Mousse, the one person whom they had been depending on to give them a fair warning about what was to come.

Well, now it all made sense how Shampoo was able to strike when she had. After the two Amazons left the room Akane let her thoughts wander as she released a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. Her mind drifted to her fiancé. He would more than likely be having a fit right now, even though he was probably well aware of where she was being held captive at. Kohan drifted across her mind and she suddenly felt a bit sick. The poor girl. It's been years since she had practiced the art but she had managed to hold her own for a bit against Shampoo. The sickening crack that she had heard as Shampoo broke Kohana's arm before she threw her through the dojo's wall echoed through her head once more and Akane briefly wondered if she were going to throw up.

Calming herself down, she did a mental check of her body. Nothing was out of the ordinary. She didn't have any broken bones or anything except the couple of scrapes and bruises that were sure to show up eventually.

Why hadn't Shampoo finished the job when she had the chance? She could have killed her right then and there, but, she didn't. Akane couldn't wrap her mind around the concept of being spared, especially since Shampoo had issued the kiss of death to her years ago and still had yet to fulfill it. She had every opportunity to do so earlier so why…?

A thought came to her as she tried to glance over her stomach in an attempt to see if her feet were bound too. Her stomach… her baby! That was it! They wanted Ranma bad enough that they were going to keep her alive as a bribe. That had to be it; there was no way that they were going to get him to come along with her and their baby dead. That would only serve to enrage him and the stories that she had heard about what he did to Saffron…

The sound of the front door to the restaurant opening and closing signaled that she was now alone. They must have thought that she was still out cold. Sitting still a few seconds longer to make sure that they were really gone, Akane attempted to go vertical without so much luck. Seeing as her hands were tied she had no way to leverage herself to sit up, so she decided to just lay there until she could think of a better plan. The moment something brushed her leg, she was struck with inspiration. "Hey Mousse…"

The duck's face came into view and Akane was surprised that she was able to decipher the look of shock on his face. "Yeah hey, I'm up. I think they left." The duck remained still for a second, listening to see if what she was saying was indeed true. Akane on the other hand noticed that he was tied up as he had been before. If she could somehow get herself to sit up, she could put her plan into action. She began to struggle again to sit up when thankfully Mousse seemed to get the message and maneuvered behind her to help out. Eventually it worked out and she was upright once again. Mousse came around to the front and waited for her to make her next move. A small smile graced her lips knowing that he was actually there to help like he said he would, even if this was not how he had intended things to go.

"Alright Mousse, listen up. I need to help you get out of here so you can warn Ranma about what's going down. I know you know their plan don't you?" Almost gravely, the duck gave a nod and something like the raw fear she had been feeling nestled in her chest once again. There was something more to what she had thought that Mousse knew, and from his body language even in duck form, she could tell that this was going to be as dangerous as ever. She tried to shake the feeling off as best as she could and focused. Just sitting around here without taking some kind of action wasn't going to help her any.

"Okay, here's the game plan…"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kohana was in a state of mild shock and apprehension.

When she had asked the boy, Ryouga, how it was that he knew her best friend she wasn't prepared for his life's story. Admittedly she wasn't really listening to any of it at first, seeing as she was too busy ogling him and fantasizing about those sexy fangs of his… ahem. Anyways, like she said, she wasn't really listening to anything at first until he started to talk about Ranma and some kind of curse he had.

At first she blew the whole thing off, like, really, whatever. But then she saw what he was talking about up close and personal herself while she absentmindedly watched Ranma take some of his frustrations out by practicing some katas. Unfortunately for him he was splashed with some water from out of nowhere by some little old man and that's when she felt her mouth drop to the floor. Ranma had literally gone from being a male, to a short, voluptuous red-headed version of himself. How exactly did she know that that was actually Ranma who was now a girl? Well that would be because the little old man who had initially splashed him was latched on to his new chest happily chanting out his name. Happily, that is, until he was face down in a crater that should have belonged on the moon.

She couldn't stop staring as Ranma stomped by and proceeded to head to the kitchen. Sneaking in behind him, she watched as he heated up some water and then doused himself, turning back into a man instantly.

Thus, the reason she was in a state of mild shock and apprehension.

Why mild shock though? Maybe it was because on some level she had just accepted whatever whacked out things were coming her way. And while she was at it, as much as she was at the Tendo residence, how was it that she never saw him change before? Maybe it was because he was never really around while she was there, and maybe he was extra careful at school. Ever since her return to Nerima, she found that the town wasn't what it had once been almost two years ago when she had initially left. Well, that and meeting Akane's new, _friends_, would do that to you.

She looked around at some of the people milling about; Ranma was once again out in the yard practicing, looking as if he were miles and miles away while everyone else was either recovering or trying to keep themselves relaxed. Akane's father had what could only be classified as a mental breakdown not to long ago so he was currently in his bedroom. Nabiki was sitting next to her watching television but really lost in thought while Ukyo was in the kitchen helping Kasumi.

Smiling to herself, Kohana thought about the last couple of months she had spent getting to know everyone. They all had their little quirks about them, what with Nabiki taking photos of her and selling them as she's come to be known as the exotic Japanese girl, and Kasumi being as well… spacey as ever about some things (when was she going to get a clue about Tofu?). Ukyo on the other hand had seemingly started out as an enemy, but she and the chef had managed to build a mutual respect and friendship with each other. Well, that and her twin had the biggest crush on her ever.

Ranma was someone that took her a while to come around to. The letters that her best friend had sent her while she was away described the boy as, and she quoted, 'a perverted cross-dressing freak.' She couldn't fathom what that had actually meant until now, seeing as he well, changes into a girl. However what had initially made her not like him was the way Akane told her he taunts and puts her down. She was glad to see that upon her arrival back home none of that was going on, but then again there was a whole different thing going on when she finally came back. An event, now that she thought about it, gave her the sense that something had been missing in her life before. Maybe it was all the craziness that her friend was going through; not that she had wanted it to that degree of course.

Soft footsteps brought her attention away from the koi pond and she found Ryouga nervously making his way back towards her. Another look around confirmed that she had been abandoned by Nabiki, thus leaving her and the fanged boy all to themselves. Damn, she hoped he wouldn't notice the blush on her cheeks.

She watched as he rubbed the back of his head, awkwardly giving her a slight, apologetic bow. "Sorry about that… I guess I got lost on my way to and from the bathroom." Kohana hid the giggle behind her uninjured hand. Ranma was right; the boy really did have a horrible sense of direction. "It's okay, Hibiki-san, really." His face turned red and she briefly wondered how she had embarrassed him. "Ah, please, don't be so formal. Call me Ryouga." When she nodded, he surprised her by deciding to continue the conversation that they were previously having before he ventured off to the bathroom.

"So, ah, Kohana-chan," She mentally slapped herself when a huge geeky grin spread across her face when he said her name, "If you don't mind me asking, how do you know Akane?" Her smile toned itself down as she thought back to the first time the two met, all the way back in kindergarten.

"Well, I grew up with her here in town. I actually used to live right down the street from here." Boy, if he had a sense of direction she'd tell him how to get to her place now! "Ahem, anyways, we met on the first day of school in kindergarten. Some kids were making fun of me, and one boy that happened to be bigger than me pushed me down. Akane was right there to help me though, even though she didn't know me at all." She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her as the memory played itself over again in her mind's eye. "She beat that poor boy up and sent him home crying. After that, she asked if I wanted to be friends and well… that was that."

She was shocked to see that he was staring at her so intently; a question was evident in his face. "What were they teasing you about, if you don't mind me asking?" She blinked a couple of times and had to squash the smart comment that was forming on her tongue. What did he mean? He would be able to tell by just looking at her! A thought struck with embarrassment suddenly as she recalled his own tales he had just relayed. He awful sense of direction had taken him all over the world nearly, so he saw other people that looked like her, didn't he? Sighing she answered, "they were teasing me because… because of how I look and what I am."

He gave her a full once over and she felt a blush creeping up her neck. He looked almost as if he were appreciative of what he was seeing. "I don't see anything wrong with you." She smiled. His parents taught him well then. "Ah yeah, well there is something wrong with me, according to some people… a majority of the older generation to be exact." When he still wasn't getting it, she decided to elaborate. "I'm not… fully… Japanese. My mother was African-American. Some people… some people don't like that, and kids, well… I was the only one in my class besides my twin that had that type of heritage. When you're different, kids can be rather cruel. Akane though, she didn't see any of that, and that's why I really cherish our friendship."

He smiled at her then shifted his gaze to the boy out in the yard whom was busy having a conversation with the old man from earlier. "I think…" Her eyes snapped up to his but they weren't focused on her at all, "I think that's part of the reason Ranma loves Akane so much. She accepted every part about him, including his curse. It didn't make a difference to her whether he turned into a girl or, hell, he could even turn into hippo for all she cared!" The two shared a laugh then and out of nowhere a sob escaped someone's throat.

Kohana's eyes widened when she realized the sound had come from her and quickly covered her mouth before another one could make it past her lips. What was wrong with her? It was almost as if remembering how she and Akane became friends was like she was mourning her or something. Akane… she was in trouble but it wasn't anything that Ranma and the others could save her from right?

A strong arm wrapped itself around her shoulders and pulled her close, being ever so careful of her injured arm. Looking up through wet lashes, she saw Ryouga's tomato-red face somewhere through her bangs and decided it was okay to lose it. Clinging to his yellow shirt she buried her face in his chest and lost it, stopping only when she felt another presence beside her.

Peeking past the yellow material she saw Ranma's sad face and started tearing up even more. She knew he was completely shattered inside and that it should be her giving him a comforting smile instead of it being the other way around. "Hey 'Hana, it's okay. I'm going to get her back, I promise. You gotta rest though. Knowing 'Kane she's probably worried sick about you right now." Kohana didn't trust her voice at that moment so she settled on nodding instead. "Okay. I gave Hiro a call and he should be on his way to get you in a minute. Let me know when you head out, I'd like to have a couple of words with your brother." She nodded again as he stood and made his way back into the kitchen.

Ranma smiled one last time at the two before making his way back into the kitchen. He really did want to talk to Kohana's twin, if only to tell him how heroic his sister was. He also got along well with her twin, even though his visits were far and few, he still liked the guy. It was nice to see that Akane had real genuine friends like Kohana. Looking back once more over his shoulder, he allowed a smirk to grace his lips at the sight of Ryouga and the short girl still embracing. It was also nice to see Ryouga making an effort to let go of everything that happened, although the thought of those two together still wasn't one he could fully comprehend.

His thoughts roamed for a second to the conversation he had just had with none other than Happosai. There was a lot that he had to fill him in on, and secretly he was actually thankful the old pervert had made an appearance when he did. He was the only one that really knew Cologne and how she operated. Surprisingly, after explaining the situation to him he was on board to help any way that he could although… the thought of his child coming anywhere in contact with that man was something he wasn't sure about.

Ranma wasn't dumb despite what others thought of him. He knew that this was a very dangerous situation that he was walking into, thus the reason he had employed the help of Happosai. They had both come to the conclusion that Cologne was on her last leg, the fact that he and Akane were now expecting a child didn't bode well for the Amazons. Cologne was desperate, and if that letter he received was any indication, she was to the point where she was pulling out all the stops.

Currently he had to calm himself down. They had Akane, but they weren't dumb enough to do anything to her… just yet. He had time, but the question was just how much? Glancing towards the attic, he willed the old man to work faster. Hopefully there would be something up there to help him out and the minute he found it…

"Ranma?"

Blinking himself present, Ranma found that he had finally arrived at the kitchen where it seemed Ukyo was doing the cooking. Looking around he found Kasumi to be nowhere in sight. "If you're looking for Kasumi-san she's upstairs checking on their father." He looked back at Ukyo to find a suspicious look on her face. Never one to beat around the bush, Ukyo took the direct approach and said what was on her mind. "Kasumi told me about the letter from the Amazons. What are you planning to do?"

Ranma closed his eyes for a second as he thought over her question. Honestly, he wasn't sure what he was going to do. Whatever it was, he was sure that he would probably have to take Cologne head-on, and that old hag was nothing to take lightly. He was prepared though, to not make it back so long as his almost-wife and child were safe. But first, before he was sure he was completely fine with this resolution, he had something to clarify. "Ukyo… you know you're a really good friend right? Actually you're more like family than anything else."

He opened his eyes to see the shocked look on her face but continued on. "Yeah, it's true. You're like the sister I never had, and Akane, well, as of the last couple of months she's felt the same way. In fact, there was something she wanted to ask you but, well, she hasn't managed to get around to it." Ukyo's eyebrows disappeared into her bangs as she more than likely got where he was going with this. "Akane and I would be honored if you would be our child's godmother…"

Ukyo had to grip the counter for support as the words were processed in her brain. First shock, then excitement crossed her features before she finally settled on anger. "You… you!" She stomped forward, temporarily forgetting about her own injuries and backed him into a corner, jabbing a finger into his chest. Heatedly she whispered in his face "you're not sure if you're going to come back are you?"

Caught, he turned his face to the side. "I…," defeated, he decided to just go with the truth, "I don't know Ukyo." Shocked at his confession she backed off some, her once ridged finger going slack. "Wha- why?" Silence reigned and then she understood. Cologne. "Ukyo please, just, are you going to do it? Would you take that title?" She stepped back some more and crossed her hands over her chest, giving him a lazy smirk. "Always one to avoid a question aren't you?" Sighing she dropped her hands from their crossed position. "Oh course I would be honored to take that title Ranma. But I'll only do it on one condition." His head snapped back in her direction and she gave him the best pleading look she could muster.

"You have to promise to try your hardest to come back."

Silence filled the space save for the bubbling pot not too far away until he finally nodded in agreement. "I'm not making you promise to come back, I'm just asking you to try. You have a family here now, and they need you. Cologne can be unpredictable, but you have us here to help so please, use all the resources you have." He was about to retort that he was when his main resource came barreling into the kitchen waving what looked like to be a scroll enthusiastically in the air. "Ranma my boy, I think I got it!"

Before Ukyo could even ask, the two were gone.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Shampoo found herself back in the backroom once more despite what her great-grandmother had told her. She didn't believe what was there lying before her eyes but yet it was true. How could her husband do this to her? How could he just…

Her thoughts flew back to everything that happened on Mount Phoenix and even she had to admit that it was plain as day obvious how her husband felt for the woman in front of her. That still didn't mean he didn't belong to Shampoo. Her mind wandered back to the conversation with her great-grandmother about their plan. _You are to get rid of the Tendo girl and that child for good. There's no reason to leave them alive and risk son-in-law running after them once he agrees to come with us. _

Could she really do it though? Akane, sure, but… a baby? It was part Ranma, which mean it could come out just as strong be it boy or girl… A thought came to Shampoo so suddenly it was almost ingenious in nature. Why hadn't she thought of it before? This way, she could not only get rid of Akane, but also ensure that her husband stays will _her_. She had just the herb to do it.

So caught up in her thoughts was she that she didn't notice the silent duck observing her and the label on the bottle that she picked from the shelf nearby. Smirking to herself on her latest and greatest plan to date she failed to notice the small mass that snuck by her and high-tailed it out of the restaurant as she turned and gave the sleeping girl one last look. She was sure this time, her husband would be hers and only hers.

Mousse on the other hand flew as fast as his wings could carry him with only one thought repeating itself in his mind.

_Shampoo has finally lost it._

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

KTKG Says: Well… here's an update. I want to thank those of you who continue to review and follow this story. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this chapter and please excuse any grammar or spelling issues. I wanted to get this out as soon as possible seeing as my time lately has been all about work. Remember to review and take care!


	22. Chapter 22

Okay, so this isn't an update. Sorry to those that were excited thinking that it was.

Okay, let me get straight to the point. For those of you who are wondering, no, I haven't abandoned this story. Yet. The thing is, not too long ago someone (who shall remain nameless) reviewed the story and completely tore it apart. In all honesty, it kind of made me lose faith in writing it, and also my ability to write period. It made me have to take a break from writing for a while to get my head together.

Since I've managed to get back in the groove of writing within other series', I have come to a decision. I have decided to continue on and see this thing through to the end, but only if you guys are actually still interested in this thing. I've been writing it for like, what, five years? It's time to complete it! I appreciate and love all of you who have stood by this story and reviewed and loved it. You guys really mean a lot to me.

Seriously though, let me know if anyone is still interested or else, I might have to let this one go.

My most sincere thanks to those who continue to read!

-KTKG


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